Crooked Wings
by Zelda Aurion
Summary: After years of violence and torment Anna escapes her waking nightmare and runs into an angel she has seen in her dreams. With her past closing in around her, she is forced to rely on this tormented man...a man she is not so sure she can trust. AU. Kranna.
1. Hold it Together

Should I be working on Broken Reflection? Yes I should. But this idea has been in my head a while so I am going for it. On with the show!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing whatever.

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Anna stared up at the ceiling, praying to whatever gods may be listening that she would be allowed to sleep. She needed the escape that only her dreams could give. It had been so long. She was so tired, but somehow she knew that tonight wasn't her night.

Footsteps echoed in the hall and she sat up, her back pressed up against the cold iron bars of her headboard. _Please...please keep going. Don't come here. Don't find me. _The door knob rattled against the lock. She stiffened, her hands clenched into fists. Then it stopped. A minute passed. Anna finally let out the breath she had been holding, relaxing as she allowed relief to course through her.

CRASH!

The door swung open with the sound of splintering wood and in lurched Anna's father. Anna sprang out of bed and settled into a fighting stance as the drunken man zeroed in on her. He swung heavily at her, but she dodged quickly. He growled and swung again. She stepped aside and he stumbled into the dresser.

"Don't you run from me, missy!" He shouted, reaching for her again. She backed away, eyes trained on his raised fist. So preoccupied was she with his attempts to strike her that she completely ignored what was in his hand. He grunted and threw the glass bottle hard at his daughter. It struck her temple with a sickening thud and down she went. He kicked her in the ribs as she lay on the floor.

"That'll teach you to lock your door," he snarled. Her reached down and picked up the bottle, leaving his daughter bruised and battered on the floor. Anna curled into herself, clutching her ribs and fighting the physical and emotional pain that had haunted her everyday of her life for the past six years.

Her mother had died when she was 10. To cope her father had quit his job and turned to alcohol. They moved around from one crappy place to the next as her father bounced between jobs that were barely legal...and a few that were completely illegal. He used his daughter as a vent for all of his frustration... his own personal punching bag. So it had been for 6 years.

Anna picked herself up off the floor and struggled back into bed without a sound. She never cried out. She never flinched. She fought back. She knew it wouldn't always be like this. She just had to hang on for two more years. Then when she was 18 she'd inherit the trust fund her mother had left her and she'd be free.

She collapsed into bed and drifted in and out of consciousness, lingering on the edge of a dream. She liked dreams. Especially since she had the same dream every time. She dreamed of an angel. Her lingered in her minds eye as she slept, watching over her...protecting her. She couldn't see his face or any features but she could see his eyes. His sad, red-brown eyes that carried the weight of the world...weighing her down. Keeping her safe.

She smiled in her sleep. One day she could sleep freely. One day her dreams would be easy and clear. One day she'd see her angel's face.

_Two more years...two more years._

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	2. Birds of a Feather

Thank you to Reina Ann Vilre, diety, and SSanity for reviewing. Hope this chapter is worth the wait!

So, here's how this works: it's still Tales of Symphonia, just modernized. Same places, towns, characters, etc. The main difference is that there is no chosen system in place and Kratos, Yuan, and Mithos are early thirties instead of mid 1000's. Got it? Good! On with the show!

Disclaimer: Namco owns Tales. The title and chapter titles are lines from evil Angel by Breaking Benjamin...so I don't own tyhem either.

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The red crystal lay on the polished wooden surface of the desk glinting harmlessly in the light cast from the lamps in the room. To the naked eye, it appeared to be nothing more than insignificant gem, inactive, powerless. But Kvar had recently learned something very different.

"A Cruxis Crystal?" he said, addressing the man seated behind the desk. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"It is quite simple," replied the man, his green eyes glinting dangerously as he looked at Kvar. "The crystal releases a toxin into the blood, causing the wearer to slowly lose his mind. As the mid disintegrates, the host dies."

"How could this prove useful to us?" Kvar asked, not quite understanding the point.

"Because once the host dies, their lifeforce, their very spirit, the thing that makes them… human, is absorbed into the Crystal," his boss replied. "It can then be worn safely by another and used to boost strength, agility, all five senses, and even aspects of your appearance."

"So it basically enhances a person's abilities," Kvar summarized.

"Or provides them with abilities when they have none."

"When you say you can modify appearances," Kvar said. "What does that mean?"

The man behind the desk stood and leaned forward. Kvar gulped, fear in his red eyes. His employer stepped around the desk and into the light. His green eyes still sparkled with malice. His sleek, long blonde hair hung loose past his shoulders and seemed seemed almost out of place with white business suit he wore. He radiated power and control. Kvar was a menacing individual, but even he felt over-shadowed by this man.

"What does it mean?" his employer said softly. "I will tell you what it means." Light began to shimmer behind the man, glowing brightly in the faintly lit office. Kvar took a step back and to his immense shock, two enormous wings sprouted from the man's back and stretched out. They were the color of the rainbow and yet they didn't offer any feeling of comfort for all their bright coloring. Kvar gaped at the man, who sneered back.

"It means, Kvar, that you should stop asking questions and start following my orders."

Kvar swallowed hard. "Yes, Lord Yggdrasill."

Mithos Yggdrassill grinned. "We have already started some experiments with the Crystals," he said, putting his wings away and settling back behind his desk. "Now we shall see how they Crystals fare feeding off the average human. That is where you come in."

"Anything you ask, my lord, I will do it," Kvar assured him.

"Pronyma tells me you have a daughter."

"That worthless child,"Kvar said with a snort. "What would you want with her?"

"Pronyma tells me she has a certain amount of…defiance in her. A bit of a fighting spirit." Mithos chose not to mention that he knew the girl had borne the brunt of Kvar's sick and twisted personality for years. He was unconcerned about the plights of a human child.

"She's a smart-mouthed little wench," Kvar agreed.

"Am I correct in assuming that you are…unconcerned with her future?" Mithos asked.

"The sooner she is out of my hair, the better."

"Excellent," Mithos said with another malicious smile. "Then I think we may have found a place to begin."

* * *

Anna quietly shut the trunk of her car and paused, listening to the quiet night sounds surrounding her. Every sense was alert as she locked the car and crept up the walkway into her house. She opened the front door and slipped inside carefully, hoping to get back upstairs undetected.

No such luck.

"Where you sneaking off to, little girl?" asked a low female voice from the living room. Anna sighed and walked into the room. Her father's s girlfriend sat there, barely clothed as usual and grinning evilly.

"None of your business Pronyma," Anna said, resting her hand on her hip. She wasn't afraid of Pronyma. At 18, she was tall and well-muscled from her classes in tae kwon do and fencing. Not to mention from the nightly struggles to stop her father's abuse. Pronyma was little more than a unpaid whore, one her father probably kept around because she put out.

"Attitude," Pronyma said warningly. "Daddy dearest won't like hearing that you talked to me in such a way."

"Ask me if I care." Anna replied with a smirk. "Go on ask."

Pronyma rose up off the couch and approached Anna, shaking her green hair out of her face. "You better start caring. One day someone will beat that smart mouth of yours clean off you."

"Funny," Anna said, meeting her eyes. "I was just thinking that one day you might learn that whores are supposed to get paid."

Pronyma's eyes flashed and she raised her hand. The slap echoed in the empty house as Anna's head jerked to the side from the force of the blow. Pronyma scowled but Anan merely turned back to her and grinned, ignoring the stinging in her cheek.

"I seem to have struck a nerve," Anna said lightly. With that she blew Pronyma a very sarcastic kiss and traipsed upstairs, laughing to herself. She could have blocked the slap. In fact she could have blocked it and broken every bone in Pronyma's arm. But she chose not to. She chose to lay low and not reveal all the training she had done in secret.

Reaching the safety of her room, Anna looked around, checking to make sure everything was in order. She never had many possessions thanks to her father's cruelty but she valued what little she had and would take it with her when she escaped.

Tonight, after 12 years living in hell, she was finally going to walk out of her father's house, and his life, and never look back. The bruises she wore under a thick coating of makeup would finally heal. No more awkward hospital visits. No more missing school because of the "flu." No more sleepless nights, listening for footsteps and the growl of her bastard father. She would be free and her father would never find her.

For the past 6 years, she had formed her plan carefully. She had graduated from the small school in Luin and had applied to the university in far off Palmacosta under a different name. Behind her father's back, she legally changed her name to Anna Irving, assuming that Anna was a common enough name to where she could keep it. When her 18th birthday came, a mere month ago, the generous trust fund set up by her mother allowed her to purchase her car and rent a small apartment in Palmacosta. If she was careful, she would be able to make the fund last for about 6 years. With luck she'd have her career and a job by then.

The other thing she had done was enroll in after school tae kwon do and fencing classes. Not only did these give her an excuse to stay away from her house, but they also came in handy for explaining all of her bruises from her father.

Anna sighed contentedly and looked around. Her room looked lived in to the naked eye. Only she would notice the absence of any type of personal décor or decoration. Her father certainly wouldn't, but then he never noticed her unless he was looking for a target. Tonight, she would pretend to go to work, just like always. (Her father thought she worked part-time cleaning the local Martel chapel when she was really in defense classes.) She would leave for "work" and be gone forever. She would leave the dusty streets of Luin behind and never return again.

The sound of the front door opening shook her from her daydream and she tensed automatically, knowing that her father was home. She heard a murmured conversation from downstairs and then—

"Girl!" he shouted. "Get down here."

Anna sighed and got to her feet. She didn't hurry downstairs, she didn't dawdle, she walked as though all was normal, keeping her own small form of defiance. She entered the living room where Pronyma perched on the arm of the sofa, smiling smugly. In the middle of the room her father glared at her.

"Yes?" Anna asked politely, meeting her father's eyes.

"Is what Pronyma told me true?" he snarled.

"I doubt it, but what did she tell you?" Anna asked.

"You struck her?"

"No, she hit me," Anna said, pointing at her still pink cheek.

"I don't believe you," her father said.

"Big surprise."

Her father grabbed Anna by the wrist and yanked her towards him, raising his other hand high above his head. Anna watched as it descended, almost in slow motion. She didn't know what happened to the smiling father she had had before her mother died, the man who had loved her and cared for her, but the older she got, the more bruises she got, the more lies and excuses she had to make up, the more she realized that he was gone for good. Maybe it was the knowledge that freedom was within her grasp. Maybe she had reached the breaking point. Or maybe it was just the sight of the all too familiar scowl coupled with the triumphant grin on Pronyma's slutty face…but Anna decided she had had enough.

"What the—"

Anna grabbed her father's descending hand and twisted it hard, forcing it up and behind his back while jerking her captive wrist free. Grunting with the effort, she shoved hard and slammed the taller man into the wall face first while Pronyma shrieked. Pinning her father to the wall she whispered in his ear. "You will never touch me again, Kvar. You will never hear me call you father again."

Pain seared in her scalp as Pronyma grabbed her by the hair and dragged her away from Kvar. Anna grabbed Pronyma's wrist and dug her nails into the soft spot between the bones of her wrist. The older woman yelped and let go, throwing her forward into Kvar, who landed a swift punch to Anna's left eye. Anna grabbed his arm and turned into his body, flinging Kvar over her hip into the oncoming Pronyma. The two flew backwards and collided with the couch. Pronyma slumped to the ground, moaning while Kvar quickly scrambled to his feet, but Anna was quicker. Scissoring her leg up and out she slammed her foot into his knee cap, satisfied to hear bone crunch as Kvar shouted out in pain and fell to his knees. He looked up in fury at his daughter, who towered over him, brown eyes snapping with fury.

"I should tear you to pieces," Anna said through clenched teeth. "But I won't. I'm not you." She dropped to one knee and stared into Kvar's murderous eyes. "I'm leaving, Kvar. I'm leaving this place. Don't bother to look for me because you will never, ever find me." She rose and headed out the door. Before she opened it, she said over her shoulder. "May Martel forgive you for what you've done. I never will."

Anna stepped through the door and closed it locking it behind her and sealing up the past 18 years of hell forever.

* * *

"You're really going to do it?"

Kratos Aurion turned away from the window he had been staring out of and faced his best friend and sometimes adversary Yuan Ka-Fei. Yuan was unmoved by the slight frown on Kratos's face as he sat down at his desk and shuffled through some papers.

"Do what, precisely?" Kratos said finally, his voice characteristically cold and uncaring.

"Rodyle's saying that you plan on handing in your resignation," Yuan said, leaning against the doorway and brushing a speck of dust off of his black suit. His long blue hair was tied back into a ponytail and his dark suit was accentuated by a blood red shirt and white tie. With his cold demeanor and dramatic dress, he looked very much like a crime lord…which he technically was.

"You are indulging in office gossip in the hopes of finding fact?" Kratos asked. His red-brown eyes met Yuan's green eyes. He was dressed very similarly to Yuan only his shirt was dark purple and his tie black. He red brown hair stuck up at all angles, but was carefully arranged to look intimidating and professional. He looked like a lawyer to Yuan's mob boss, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Not hardly," Yuan said pushing away from the door frame and moving close to the desk to fix Kratos with a beady stare. "But I know you. I know how you operate. It's only a matter of time before that code of honor you hold so dear gets in the way."

"You agree with Mithos's doings?" Kratos asked pointedly.

"You know I do not," Yuan replied. "It was one thing when he was using his business influence and political influence to end the Kharlan war. At least he and Martel did that peacefully. But now…I know Martel is gone but he has taken it much too hard."

Kratos sighed. 5 years ago, Mithos and his sister Martel had used their position as diplomats to bring an end to the Kharlan war. However, those who did not want peace had sought revenge and had murdered Martel right in front of him and Yuan and Kratos. Since then the peaceful diplomatic and business ventures Mithos had normally undertaken had turned more cynical and more questionable. He used his considerable influence over the new political leaders to enact certain policies that he felt necessary, such as the iron wall between Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, and the criminal prosecution for any who practice magitechnology. And those were just his public practices. In the shadows, he was monopolizing the exsphere mining, involving himself in weapons dealing and drug dealing, and he had managed to pull all of the former crime bosses under his rule. The illegal operations financed his newest project and only Yuan and Kratos knew the true intent of this project.

"His current endeavors are both questionable and immoral," Kratos agreed. "Despite our years together, he has refused to listen to reason at this point. I have a feeling that this project of his will result in disaster."

Yuan raised his eyebrows. "Sounds to me as though you are reaching a decision. You really are going to resign, aren't you?"

Kratos met Yuan's eyes. "There is no resignation allowed. You know this."

"I do," Yuan said. They looked at each other, speaking without words. Yuan knew Kratos was going to leave. He also knew that if he did, he would be hunted to the ends of the earth. Mithos Yggdrasill would never let him go.

"Are you concerned, Yuan?" Kratos asked.

No," Yuan said evenly. "Merely curious."

Kratos sighed heavily. "Yuan, if you're only reason for being here is to ask inane questions, then please leave. I have much to do."

Yuan scoffed. "As if that would be my only purpose." He reached into the inner pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a sheath of papers. "Our fearless leader has asked me to give you this."

"An assignment?" Kratos asked, taking the papers from Yuan.

"He wants you to bring her in for testing," Yuan clarified.

Kratos looked up sharply at Yuan. "Testing? He found a subject for his experiments that quickly?"

"It seems so," Yuan said. "She apparently shares the same personality and biological profile as Martel. He wants to try it out."

"Foolishness," Kratos muttered. "who's the-?"

Kratos broke off abruptly, staring at the page in his hand. A girl stared out at him. She was young, eighteen according to the details listed below her picture. Her pale heart-shaped face hid behind a glossy curtain of chestnut hair. She was pretty. Very pretty. Kratos couldn't explain why she struck him so, but he knew it was probably her eyes. They were a dark brown color that somehow still seemed to shine. A multitude of things lay reflected in those eyes. There was life in her and determination and a fighting spirit in her direct gaze. But there were shadows too, weighing her down. He knew that look well. It stared back at him out of the mirror. How could one so young have scars so visible?

"Kratos?"

Kratos looked up at Yuan. It seemed that he had been talking to Kratos for quite some time, but Kratos hadn't heard a word. He had been so caught up in the picture that he completely ignored Yuan.

"What did you say?" Kratos asked quickly.

Yuan shot him a puzzled glance before repeating his statement. "I said Mithos wants you to bring the girl in. It shouldn't be a problem. You may find her parentage of some interest."

"Parentage?" Kratos looked down at the girl's profile. Her mother was listed first, having d some 8 years ago. The name was unfamiliar. He glanced under that at the father and received a very unpleasant surprise.

"Kvar Jamison?!" Kratos asked, shocked. "That piece of filth has a daughter?"

Yuan nodded. "Shame too. I heard he is a bit too heavy handed with her, if you catch my drift."

Kratos's fist clenched. Kvar was a rat bastard and cruel. The thought of this or any other girl being forced to depend on him was sickening. Even more sickening was that the report on this girl, this Anna Jamison, clearly indicated Kvar's full approval for her to be used in this project.

"Who does this to their own child?" Kratos muttered.

"Bastards like kvar," Yuan said. "In any case, Mithos wants you to retrieve her. By any means necessary. Should be easy enough."

Kratos stared at the picture once more. This girl so scarred...but so innocent. Was this what it had come to? Would he hand deliver victims to his friend and boss so that they could be harvested like cattle? Would the war they fought so hard to end be replaced with murder and power struggles? Could he be a part of that?

Could he really send this girl to her death?

Kratos met Yuan's eyes. "It will be taken care of."

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	3. Lies and Crooked Wings

Another chapter. I am on a roll! Hope everyone enjoys it.

And of course I would be nothing without both my readers and reviewers. Thank you splitheart1120, Reina Ann Vilre, SSanity, InuNaruPokeAlchemist, and diety for your feedback. (I'll fix the typos and Yuan's name, I promise!)

On with the show!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

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CW

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Mithos Yggdrasill stared out the window, gazing down at the city below him. With his office dark except for the glow of the T.V., he had a clear view of the city. He took no pleasure in the view, such things were beneath him. His thoughts were consumed only by business. His latest plan was fool proof, he knew it. He only had to find the right subject and his sister would be back with him.

His blank face crumpled into a scowl as he thought about his sister's death and the humans who had taken her away, just because they desired peace. The rose colored glasses had been ripped away that day. Now he wouldn't rest until he had resurrected his sister and made each and every human pay. The changes had been subtle at first, starting with the travel bans between Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, and would culminate with his latest idea.

Mithos turned to examine his desk and the red orb that sat there, the very one he had used to intimidate Kvar into cooperation. To the untrained eye, it resembled an Exsphere. Exspheres were mined from the earth and attached to a special type of dwarf tech called a key crest.

However, in the underground expshere trade, a group of rogue dwarfs had found another use for these stones. When equipped to a living being with no crest, the exsphere absorbed a person's life force and became a Cruxis Crystal. From there it had to be equipped with a special piece of tech made from expensive, rare materials: a mana fragment, mana leaf herb, and zircon.

There was only one placed in the world they could be found: Derris Kharlan, the forbidden city.

And wasn't it lucky that that Mithos had it under his control?

Mithos smiled. He had plans, big plans all centered on his observations of the Cruxis Crystal in action. His sister remained cryogenically frozen, hidden in the last source of mana remaining in the world. It cost a great deal of mana to sustain her and the world was suffering mana shortages because of it. Mithos did not care. All of his research indicated that if he could find someone with similar biological and genetic indicators as his sister, he could use that person to create a Cruxis Crystal capable of restoring his sister. And thanks to Kvar of all people, he finally had one.

"Lord Yggdrasill."

Mithos sat down at his desk and pressed the intercom button on his phone to address his receptionist. "What is it Tabatha?"

His receptionist's cool, emotionless voice replied promptly, "Pronyma is on line one for you, she claims it is an emergency."

Mithos sighed. "I'll take the call." He released the intercom button and removed the phone from the receiver to immediately encounter Pronyma's shrill, panicked voice.

"My lord, she's gone!"

"What?" Mithos snapped, frustrated by this interruption. "What are you babbling about?"

"The girl," Pronyma cried. "Anna Jamison. She escaped us. I don't know how she did it but—!"

Mithos's fist clenched as Pronyma carried on about some kind of tussle she had and Kvar had ran into with the girl, followed by an explanation of how they had lost her. It seemed Kvar and Pronyma had underestimated her. The wench had gone to extreme lengths to escape her vile father and conceal her location and quite possibly her identity. Mithos would have to waste precious time and use some of his more questionable resource to track her down.

This couldn't come at a worse time.

"Silence!" Mithos barked and Pronyma quieted at once. "You and Kvar get in my office immediately. You have much to answer for." He hung up without waiting for a reply and dialed his secretary.

"Tabatha, get me Kratos. Now."

He turned to the corner of his office where the T.V. flickered. Seizing the remote, he pressed the mute button restoring the sound.

_"…and finally, it was announced today that diplomat and entrepreneur Mithos Yggdrasill will be the opposing candidate in the upcoming election…"_

* * *

The bright lights of Palmacosta glittered on the horizon, back-dropped by the endless black mass that was the ocean. A cool sea breeze blew through the open windows as the dark pavement slipped quickly under the tires. Despite the picturesque scene surrounding her, Anna gripped the steering wheel tightly, her posture stiff as she glanced frequently into her rear view and side view mirrors. She had been driving the better part of two days, stopping at out of the way gas stations to refuel and catch cat naps in the parking lot. The victory she had felt about leaving her father bleeding on the floor gave way to panic the farther down the road she got. Having been controlled by Kvar for her entire life, she didn't trust that escaping him would be so easy. And yet, she wasn't followed. She knew the signs to look for, or at least she though she did. Her instincts were usually good and she trusted them, therefore her anxiety shouldn't be ignored.

_I just have to keep going. Get to my apartment, lock the door, get some real sleep. I mean come on, why would he follow me? It's not like he gives a d about me._

Anna willed herself to relax. She was almost to Palmacosta now. She was free.

* * *

Kratos paused before the dark wooden doors, steeling himself. He knew exactly why Mithos wanted to see him: Kvar's daughter had escaped. Not only had she escaped, but she had Kvar had taken quite a bit of what he had dished out to the girl over the years. Kratos smiled at that. He had to admire someone who fought back.

Sighing, he knocked twice and the entered. Mithos looked up from the papers he was sifting through and nodded once to Kratos before looking back down.

"It seems Kvar lost the test subject," Kratos said lightly, settling into one of the leather chairs in front of the desk.

Mithos scowled. "Yes. He and Pronyma have been dealt with."

"So I am correct in assuming that you want me to find the girl," Kratos said.

"Yes," Mithos replied. "It will be harder. This couldn't come at a worse time. It will be harder to use my more…discreet resources with the candidacy having been announced."

"Congratulations," Kratos said, the hair on the back of his neck prickling. The thought of Mithos in a position of absolute power was frightening.

"You don't mean that," Mithos said. "Do not pretend. I know you."

Kratos shrugged. "Your political endeavors do not concern me. What does concern me is your latest project."

"The Angelus Project." Mithos smiled slightly. "I have to give Kvar credit for the name, even if he did let my test subject escape."

"Mithos," Kratos said, employing his old friend's first name in the hope of appealing to his more rational side. "This project…it's unwise."

"Bringing back my sister is not unwise," Mithos said with a growl.

"At the cost of innocent lives?" Kratos leaned forward. "Think of Martel, Mithos. She would hate it."

"I am thinking of Martel," Mithos shouted, jumping to his feet. "I'm the only one thinking of her apparently. You swore to help me, Kratos Aurion! Does our friendship and my sister's life mean so little to you? To you and to Yuan?!"

Kratos sighed again. They had gone in circles over this so many times with Mithos becoming more and more enraged each time. Yuan was right; Mithos was becoming more and more unhinged. Kratos knew this was wrong, but what could he do? If he left, Mithos would do even more harm. Working with his deranged friend he had more of a chance of to change things.

Didn't he?

"What would you like me to do in regards to the girl?"

Mithos grabbed a new packet and thrust it at Kratos. "Subject A012. She went to great lengths to hide her escape. No friends in luin, lies about employment, obviously took some type of f classes but gave all of her instructors different answers as to where she was going after graduation. Obviously she will be under an assumed name. Her mother left her a large inheritance which has been transferred out of the bank in Luin. We'll start there, looking for any banks that have records of a customer depositing that amount of money."

"She seems smart," Kratos said. "She may keep it as cash, or divide the sum between banks."

"She is young," Kvar said. "And Pronyma's profile of her indicates that she is indeed smart, but naïve." Kratos bit his tongue against his own disagreement. "We'll start with the more common slip ups: banks, car model, paper trails. In the meantime, I am sending you to Palmacosta first to do a visual sweep."

"You think she sought anonymity in Sylvarant's largest city," Kratos said, glancing down at his new notes. "Her academic profile indicates intelligence. Perhaps she sought the university." He stared at the picture that was now quite familiar to him. Same heart-shaped face, same captivating eyes.

"Perhaps," Mithos agreed. "You leave tonight. I have set up accommodations for you. The information is on the back of the packet." Mithos met Kratos's eyes with his cold malicious stare. "Do not fail me, Kratos. If you fail me, you fail Martel. I won't stand for that."

Kratos stood and inclined his head. "Yes, Lord Yggdrasill."

* * *

Yuan sighed and pushed himself away from the large monitor that dominated one wall of his secret office. Having over heard the conversation between Kratos and Mithos, he grew more frustrated. Rubbing the engagement ring he now wore on his finger he digested what he had heard now and all the other times he had monitored Mithos's goings on.

However, he owed it to Martel and her memory to make sure that Mithos did not succeed in this mad quest to resurrect her and create a dictatorship run by half-elves. Martel would not want that and he swore that he would prevent it.

It seemed that this girl, Anna Jamison, was of great significance to Mithos's experiment. Yuan's immediate instinct was to dispatch the Renegades to eliminate that problem, but he hesitated. His conversation with Kratos when he handed him the assignment had given him cause to sit back and observe. He had known Kratos since they were both children. Kratos was one of few humans who did not judge Mithos, Yuan, and Martel for being half-elves and for that he had always respected Kratos and called him a friend.

Kratos reaction to this girl he was to hunt puzzled Yuan. In all their years together, he had never known Kratos to notice any girl. He was all business and of sincerity. Yet something in his face when he looked at the picture made Yuan hesitate when it came to killing the girl. It was no secret that Mithos trusted Kratos above anyone else. During their mission to negotiate peace with the warring Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, mythos had formed an alliance with Origin, the spirit that governed the world and mana. The proof of their alliance was bound using the blood of the man both Origin and Mithos trusted: Kratos. If Yuan could gain leverage over Kratos, he might be able to take Mithos down. Maybe this girl would be the key to that leverage.

Yuan shook his head. It was indeed a harsh world when you had to place your best friend's head on the chopping block.

* * *

_Blue wings fanned out slowly. Red brown yes stared into her soul, seeking all of the emotions she worked so hard to hide. His face was a blur but she could see his wings. She could sense his sadness. She could feel his heartbeat._

The alarm rang and Anna's eyes snapped open. She growled in frustration. The angel still haunted her dreams and she still could not see his face. She didn't understand it. She was free. Why did this dream still torment her?

Anna stretched in her very comfortable bed and smiled to herself. The sun streamed in through the venetian blinds, hinting at another beautiful day. A sea breeze wafted in through the windows giving everything a tangy fresh scent. Never had the world been so bright and beautiful now that her father's taint had been stripped away.

Anna rose and prepared for the day, throwing on a white, knee length skirt with a black short-sleeved blouse and black strappy sandals. She left her long brown hair loose and put on a touch of makeup to accentuate her eyes. She grabbed her foundation and stared into the mirror, examining her face intently. Then she smiled. For the first time in 8 years, she didn't have to cake on foundation to cover up bruises or cuts. The black eye she had received from her father three weeks ago was nothing but a very faint shadow above her eyebrow. One she could ignore. She stared at the tube of powder in her hand for a moment.

"I won't be needing you anymore," she said aloud. She tossed it into the trash can and heard the satisfying clang it made as it disappeared from her life. Smiling at her reflection one last time, she seized her keys and raced out the door eager to start her day.

* * *

Kratos lounged casually on a bench in the shade of a palm tree near the library of Plamacosta University. To passerby, he looked like an older student or a young professor. His business suit had black boots, black jeans, and short sleeved purple polo. A briefcase with a shoulder strap rested on the bench next to his black leather jacket. The only strange thing about his appearance was the purple cloth wound around his left palm, extending up to his elbow. Fortunately, weird forms of dress were common in such a bustling city and especially on a college campus so no one took notice. Except the females. He watched uninterestedly as girl after girl walked by, giggling as the passed him suggestive looks. He treated them to a blank stare, not meeting their eyes and the eventually moved on.

Kratos sought one female and one female only and as the days went by, he was more and more convinced that she was not on the campus. He had moved around, changing his vantage points often, keeping an eye to the main buildings. Once or twice he caught a flash of brown hair, but it was never her. Now, with the first week of classes ending, he was almost convinced that she wasn't here.

He sighed. He'd have to scour the city next. That would take much longer. He'd have to call in favors, check files that he wasn't officially allowed to check, that sort of thing. Still, he would find her. He knew he could.

He must.

* * *

CW

* * *

You know what to do!


	4. I Have the Answer

this took longer than I intended, but I was working on my novel and got distracted. However, we are approaching a moment that I think you've all been waiting for so hopefully you'll forgive my delay!

As always I would be nothing without my reviewers. Muchos Gracias to: Reina Ann Vilre, splitheart1120, SSanity, and InuNaruPokeAlchemist. And much love to me readers who don't review.

All right...on with the show!

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

* * *

CW

* * *

Anna readjusted her back pack and lifted her face to the fading sunlight. She loved this time of day, where the sun lingered on the edge of the world and the ocean hummed to the oncoming night. She felt at peace, like nothing could harm her.

It had been a tough week. The stress of starting classes coupled with her fear of meeting new people. She had been a loner in high school, for obvious reasons, and wasn't too keen to let anyone close to her now. Not only do friends and significant others want to know all about your personal life, but they also would cause her to form ties that would theoretically bind her to one place emotionally. She doubted Kvar was searching for her, but that was no reason to get careless. She knew his patterns, the patterns of all abusive people: they were not inclined to let their targets go.

She grimaced at the grim picture her mind had just presented her with: four years in a big city alone and friendless. Was this what her life had come to? Even free of her father, would she always be trapped by the fear of someone discovering her past?

WHAM!

Anna stumbled as she collided with something solid and the books in her hand tumbled to the ground. She looked up and saw a tall man blocking her path, his back to her. As he turned, he said, "I'm sorry miss," and locked eyes with her.

Anna gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. His eyes. She knew those eyes. They were a deep red-brown, dark and thoughtful as though shadows played across the surface of his mind. Oh yes, she knew those eyes.

This man had the eyes of her angel.

Kratos stared at the girl who looked as shocked as he felt. He had just come to the conclusion that his target was nowhere on campus. He had started down the sidewalk and paused, deciding where to go from there when something bumped into him from behind. He turned around, an apology forming on his lips and was shocked to see the girl he had been searching for gaping at him like he had just fallen out of the sky.

Anna shook herself and stooped to pick up her books. "I am so sorry," she said hurriedly, trying to avoid looking at him. "I was thinking and wasn't paying attention."

"It's all right," Kratos said, crouching down and grabbing some of the loose papers that had fallen to the ground, one of which appeared to be her class schedule. Kratos hesitated and pretended to straighten up the stack of papers while he examined her schedule.

Student:  Irving, Anna  
Major: Art History  
Minor: Psychology

MWF  
8-9: Psychology 101  
11-12: Art History 101  
2-4: Intermediate Composition  
6-7: College Algebra  
TR  
8-10: Behavioral Psychology  
12-2: Biology 101  
6-8: Women, Art, and Society  
21 hrs.

Anna's hand closed on the papers in Kratos's hand and drew them away. "Thank you for the help," she said quietly, adding the sheets to the top of her stack and giving him a strange look. It was then Kratos realized how odd he must seem to this girl, since he had first stood there staring at her then snooped through her papers.

"Please excuse me," Kratos said gently. "I did not mean to pry, I just saw your name and wanted to be able to apologize properly, Miss Irving."

"I see," Anna said, her tone conveying that she did not entirely believe him. "I suppose I should be the one to apologize. I was the one who ran into you." Anna straightened from her crouch. "Although, few people make it a habit to stop in the middle of the sidewalk."

Kratos rose to his feet, suppressing a slight smile. "Very true." He paused for a moment, considering his options. The sidewalks and streets around them were occupied by students and commuters. The likelihood of snatching her up and escaping with no fuss was next to impossible. Mithos may not care, but Kratos did. Low profiles were essential to how he worked. Plus, judging from the guarded look in her eyes, it was unlikely he could convince her to peaceably accompany him anywhere. So what to do?

"Well once again, I apologize, Miss Irving." He bowed his head slightly. "If you'll excuse me?"

"Of course," Anna said with a nod. Inside her mind was reeling. How could someone—an actual living breathing someone—have the exact same eyes she dreamed about every night for eight years? Was he an actual angel? Was she psychic? Was she ever going to see him again?

Wait, was she actually letting him LEAVE?!

"Wait!" she blurted out, whirling around. "Please wait."

Kratos turned around and faced her. The orange glow of the sunlight illuminated her face, giving her cheeks a rosy glow. Her hair shined in the light, glowing like a halo around her soft face and her sparkling eyes. The black blouse she wore showed very womanly curves and the knee length white skirt reveled very long, toned legs. Kratos mentally shook himself for noticing such things. _What is it about this girl that makes me so…emotional?_ "Yes?" Kratos said, grateful that he wasn't gaping like a fool this time.

"I…" Anna had nothing to say and her normally sharp mind was failing her. She was struck by how attractive this mystery man was. His face, while still clear was half hidden in shadow. His reddish eyes were piercing in the fading light and his spiky auburn hair hung over one half of his face, giving him a brooding air. The leather jacket and purple shirt helped this image and she couldn't help but admire the way his shoulders filled the garments out. He actually looked quite dangerous but the sadness he wore as a cloak somehow rounded him out, making him seem thoughtful and empathetic rather than alarming.

"I…"Anna said again. "Um…er…well I…"

Kratos's mouth twisted into a wry smile. "Are you always so articulate?"

Anna's mouth snapped closed and she glared at him. "I beg your pardon? I am perfectly articulate. I just wanted to ask you a question."

"You know nothing about me," Kratos pointed out. "Why would you have anything to ask me?"

"Well excuse me, but you didn't drop a class schedule for me to snoop through like a freak."

"Are you merely frustrated that the thought didn't occur to you?" Kratos inquired, not sure why he was baiting her so.

"No," Anna snapped. "I have respect for other people and their privacy. Enough where I don't stop in the middle of the sidewalk like a buffoon."

"I guess your respect prevents you from watching where you are walking," Kratos said, raising an eyebrow. "How interesting."

"I was thinking!"

"And yet you couldn't _think_ of why you stopped me from leaving just now?"

Anna was fuming. She had merely wanted to stop him from leaving because she wanted to know more about him. How dare he make fun of her? She didn't care if he had her angle's eyes, this man was clearly no angel. Anna put her hand on her hip. "I merely wanted to know your name, but now I couldn't care less." She turned and her heel and started to stomp away, white skirt billowing in the breeze.

"Kratos," he called after her. "Kratos Aurion."

Anan stopped and looked back over her shoulder. "Your name is Kratos?" she asked, raising one eyebrow.

Kratos nodded.

"One moment," she said. She rummaged through her bag for a moment and pulled out a small object. Smiling sweetly, she tossed it to Kratos, who caught it reflexively. He opened his hand to find a quarter.

"What's this for?" Kratos asked, completely confused.

Anna turned away. "For you to call someone who cares." With that she stormed into the library and out of sight.

Kratos watched her go, his hand closing around the quarter. _ Damn. I didn't mean to make her mad. Now it will be even harder to get her somewhere more secluded so that I can transport her to Mithos. _He sighed heavily and rolled the coin in his hand. Still, he couldn't believe the encounter he had just had with her. It was...highly amusing.

_She's funny, smart, spirited, and witty. And not afraid to take on any challenger. Coupled with the fact she is…very attractive._

"This is going to be harder than I thought…" Kratos muttered.

* * *

_The nerve!_ Anna thought fuming as she wound her way through the stacks in the library. _First he runs into me, then he snoops through my things, then he mocks me. What kind of person does that? Stupid man. Stupid…what was his name? Oh yeah, Kratos. STUPID KRATOS!_

Anna slammed her books down on a table earning a glare from the girl at the next table over. "What?" Anna snarled. "Do you have something you would like to share with the class?"

The girls scowled, gathered up her things, and left.

Anna flung herself in her chair and began yanking books out of her bag and slamming them down on the table as though each one had done her a great personal wrong. She wasn't even sure why she was so angry. True, she didn't like to be mocked. She had always had a short fuse to boot, something she hated to think about since that clearly came from her bastard father. But still…why was she flying off the handle?

Anna slouched, the anger ebbing away. _I know why I am angry. The first person that I actually interact with and I immediately look for reasons to push him away. Even that girl who just rolled her eyes at me. I snapped. _Anna picked up her pencil and tapped it on the desk. _Is this really who I want to be? A cold, hard bitch who doesn't let anyone close? Is that me? It can't be. That's my father. I don't want to be like him._

"You seem very prone to day dreaming," said a cool voice.

Anna glared up at Kratos, her temper spiking again despite her thoughts. "Are you stalking me?"

"No. I actually came to apologize for my rude behavior," Kratos said. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

Anna folded her arms across her chest. "It's a public building and a public chair. Do as you wish."

Kratos sat down and folded his hands on the table top, surveying Anna between the gaps in his hair. "You seem agitated."

Anna's scowl deepened. "I do not like being made to look like a fool," she pointed out.

"Indeed, I can see that now," Kratos said. "I am sorry. I was just confused as to why you prevented me from leaving."

Anna thought for a moment. "It's probably for the same reason you sought me out just now."

Kratos was silent for a long moment. Finally he said, "You are a very interesting person, Miss Irving."

Anna raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head. "And I'm beginning to think you're insane."

"I may be," Kratos agreed, "but you still have not explained why you wanted to know my name. Or why you were staring at me so right after you bumped into me."

"Why did you look at my class schedule?" Anna retorted.

They sat there for a moment, staring each other down, a young student on the run unknowingly having a verbal sparring contest with the man charged with hunting her down. So much unknown and unsaid drama, it almost made Kratos laugh. But there was nothing funny about this situation. He had found the target. He had his duty. Not only that but he had to think of a lie quick for her question.

"Well…" Kratos said slowly.

Anna smirked. "Are you always so articulate?"

Kratos blinked, taken aback and then surprised himself. He chuckled.

"You look a lot less intimidating when you laugh," Anna remarked, smiling slightly. "Good to know there's something halfway decent in you, Mr. Aurion."

Kratos sobered immediately. "Halfway decent. Hmm."

"What?" Anna asked puzzled.

"It is nothing, Miss Irving."

"Anna. Miss Irving sounds too stuffy."

"Kratos, then."

Anan nodded and stuck out her hand. Kratos stared at it like it was a foreign object.

"In most cultures this means we shake hands," Anna said slowly and exaggeratedly.

Kratos nodded and slowly extended his hand. He gripped her smaller hand in his and was surprised by her firm handshake. More surprising was the strange sensation that crept up his arm. It was like tiny jabs of static electricity running up from wrist to elbow. He was so surprised by the sensation that he promptly dropped her hand and folded his own in his lap under the table, rubbing his arm slightly.

Anna withdrew her own hand more slowly, a troubled look on her face. Why had he pulled away so quickly? Did he feel that weird sensation too? Like fire spreading through the veins?

Kratos stood abruptly. "I will leave you to your studies, Miss…Anna," he said, trying her name out for the first time. He was disturbed to discover that saying her name made him feel...warm. All over. Almost feverish. _What is WRONG with me?_

"Very well…Kratos," she replied, ignoring the blush that crept up her cheeks. _Of course I go red now. Why wouldn't I? STUPID! _"Meeting you was…"

"An experience?" he supplied.

"To say the least," Anna said drily. "Good-bye."

Kratos stood and turned away. Before he left he looked back over his shoulder. "Watch out for yourself," he said before he could stop himself.

She looked puzzled.

Kratos swallowed hard. "You know…so you don't collide with any more strangers while you're…thinking."

Anna scowled and said with a snap. "Good bye Mr. Aurion."

Kratos walked away, fighting a smile.

Anna looked up over the top of her book at his retreating figure. _That man…is trouble._

It wasn't until later that the both of them realized the they had not received any answers to any of their questions.

* * *

Yuan sighed and rubbed his forehead, having just witnessed the scene in the library. Little did Anna know, the girl she had snapped at in the library was one of the agents Yuan had placed in some of the more important buildings on the Palmacosta University campus. His Renegades all carried concealed audio and visual equipment, allowing him to get a full visual of the field and to hear what was going on. His office may as well have been one big TV screen given all of the monitors he had on the walls.

Fortunately, his dedication and his agents allowed him to be privy to the library conversation that his best friend had just had with the target that so many people were interested in. Yuan himself was interested in this girl…but not for the same reasons. Yuan knew Kratos better than most. He could see that Kratos could one day come to care for this girl if the right events and right choices were made. Then he would have him. He would be able to release the vow Origin had made with Mithos, weakening the man enough to where he could be taken down. And Martel could finally rest…

But how to push Kratos at her? Yuan thought for a moment then smiled.

Jealousy, of course.

* * *

Kratos unlocked his temporary apartment in the heart of Palmacosta and sighed with relief. What an exhausting and confusing day. He had located Anna—A012, but he was no closer to fetching her to Mithos than ever. She was too suspicious and, he suspected, too sharp to be taken in by charm and thanks to his attitude, they had gotten off on the wrong foot. It was unlikely that she would trust him enough for him to take her way.

Kratos flopped on the plush leather sofa and stretched out on his back, hands behind his head as he watched the night sky from one of the large skylights in his roof. He didn't know what to do about this assignment. The thought of abandoning his friend made him feel horrible…but what Mithos was doing and what he proposed to do was worse. And what if he won the election? Kratos would be hard pressed to stop him then, if he even could be stopped at all.

Then there was Anna. She was so young…so full of life, much more so than he would expect from growing up at Kvar's hand. Could he really take her in? Watch her be handed over to the jaws of death? Could he handle that responsibility?

_Riiing!_

Kratos sat up and fished his cell phone out of his pocket. The caller ID clearly read Mithos Yggdrasill. Kratos knew that decision time was here…he just wasn't sure what that decision was.

"Aurion," Kratos said by way of greeting into his phone.

"Have you located the objective?" Mithos said without preamble.

Kratos paused for a moment. "I have a lead." He was stalling and he knew it. He knew Mithos would probe him further than that.

"And?" Mithos asked eagerly. "Is she in Palmacosta? Is she at the University like you suspected?"

"It is possible," Kratos said. "I should have a definitive confirmation soon."

"How soon?"

Kratos bit his lip. "Tomorrow."

"Very well" Mithos said.

"My lord, is it necessary to use this particular girl?"

There was a long pause, during which Kratos held his breath. "Why do you ask, Kratos?"

"Well," Kratos said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "I merely thought that the time spent seeking this girl was wasteful. I am sure there are many other candidates suitable for this…project."

"No," Mithos said firmly. "I refuse to accept second best. This girl fits the exact profile I need. Plus she already has known a great deal of suffering which will help enhance the effects of the Crystal. We need this girl."

Kratos felt anger stir in him. "This project is folly, Mithos. You would do well to—."

Mithos cut him off. "Your interest in saving this girl will do nothing to sway me, Kratos. You were always to noble for your own good. Complete the assignment or face the consequences."

"I am already facing consequences," Kratos spat out, his temper catching up with him at last. "You're actions are terrible. My conscious will not allow me to help you in this matter!"

"You have no choice!" Mithos shouted. "Do not forget, Aurion: I bound the vow with Origin to your very life. My sister means more to me than that vow and your blood. Finish the mission and get this girl to me. No more objections."

Kratos grit his teeth and said, "Yes Lord Yggdrasill." Mithos ended the call and Kratos slowly lowered his cell phone away from his face, staring at his million dollar view of Palmacosta.

Suddenly the phone was flying through the air into the massive front window where it collided with the sharp crack of broken plastic.

* * *

CW

* * *

Review if you want to see Kratos smash the window next!


	5. Spreading the Cancer

I am so sorry this took so long! A bunch of stuff went sown at my job and I have been doing applications like a mad man. Sorry! But I would like to thank SSanity, Reina Ann Vilre, and diety for their awesome reviews!

And now, with no more ado, on with the show!

Disclaimer: Really?

* * *

CW

* * *

_Anna curled into herself, shielding her rib cage with her arms as the blows rained down around her. One of arms hurt badly and her nose felt funny, like it was broken. She hadn't meant to make him angry. The milk jar was just so heavy and he wouldn't help her pour. She was hungry, but they had nothing to eat except the last bit of milk because they had moved again._

"_Stop!" she cried out, her 11 year-old hands forming ineffective shields against her father's cruelty. "Daddy, stop! I'll clean it up. Please!"_

_Kvar reached down and yanked her up and shoved her towards the white puddle on the ground. "Get to work, girl. And heaven help you if I find one drop!"Kvar grabbed his bottle off of the counter and stumbled from the room._

_Anna sniffed, wiping away the single tear that trickle down her check. Grabbing a discarded newspaper and clutching her wounded arm, she knelt next to the spilled milk and carefully began to soak it up into the newsprint._

"_Mommy…" she whispered. "Mommy, please make him stop."_

Eighteen- year-old Anna opened her eyes and scowled at the ceiling. She was sick of the dreams, sick of being trapped in her past. She was stronger than that. Not to mention she had already lived through it once.

That particular episode had been bad. Most of the episodes within the first year had been horrible, the worst of all. They had been when the grief was still fresh for her and her father so he had acted out more viciously. That particular episode ended with a hospital visit covered up by a weak excuse.

"'I fell down,'" Anna growled. "Yeah, I fell down. A lot. With his help." The clock red 6 a.m. and she was too mad to feel tired so she gave up on sleep. Instead she swung herself out of bed and went to the window still growling about her father.

"What did Mom even see in him?" Anna muttered. "I mean sure, I remember when he was nice. But was there really no sign of this before? Did both mom and I not see this monster underneath?"

Anna rubbed her eyes, thinking, trying to pull up some nugget of evidence from her early childhood, but she couldn't. It was like the latter part of her childhood had erased her few good early memories. She didn't like that. Perhaps one day, when she wasn't tired and cranky, she'd be able to recall something.

Still grumbling she took a hot shower and dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a simple blue T-Shirt. After eating a hearty breakfast in an attempt to cheer herself up-hey what worked better than bacon?-she tied her hair back, grabbed her backpack and headed out the door to the library. She hadn't gotten as much done with her homework as she would have liked. She kept thinking about that man, that Kratos Aurion person. How odd he was. How cold, how distant, how dark, how mysterious, how tall, how handsome.

"Gah!" she said aloud, slamming her car door shut as she got in. "I so don't need this right now."

* * *

Yuan sat at the very table Anna had occupied the night before. He had dispensed with his usual business suit and instead wore a long sleeve red button up, black jeans, and simple black tennis shoes. He chafed in such casual wear, but he had to blend in. The spy he had tailing Kratos said that he was still in his apartment, doing some type of research on the computer. That alone reassured Yuan. If he hadn't handed the girl over yet, Yuan still had a shot a pushing her towards Kratos.

The blunette smiled to himself and typed away on his laptop, going over some plans he and Botta had come up with to hopefully stop Mithos's attempts to clench the election. Yggdrasill in a position of even greater power was something he very much wanted to avoid.

He heard a set of footsteps approach and then stop abruptly. He looked up just in time to see his quarry, Anna Jamison, glancing around for another table. Lucky for Yuan, the surrounding tables were all full of "students." And by students, he meant Renegade spies mixed in with some actual students. He watched as she turned away, possibly in search of another table on another floor. Then he struck.

"Miss," he called softly. Anna turned towards him, brown eyes suspicious. "Please. This table is very large and most everywhere else is full. You can sit here." He smiled, all smooth, suave charm. "I'd welcome it."

Ann frowned slightly. "You'd welcome it?"

Yuna nodded, still smiling. "Of course. A beautiful lady such as yourself would be very pleasing company."

Anna put her hand on her hip, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "First yesterday's bozo and now today's. What's your deal? What do you want?"

Yuan's smile faltered. "I was merely trying to be polite by-?"

"By propositioning a girl you'd never met into sharing a table?" Anna challenged. "By telling me how much you'd enjoy my 'company?'" She glared at the guy, seeing right through his charming act. Something in the way he looked at her, calculating and cold with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, made her nervous. She didn't want to let on her nervousness and took a degree of pleasure in throwing him for a loop, especially since it basically sounded like he was trying to pick her up like some prostitute.

Yuan stared, completely poleaxed. Hadn't he complimented her? Charmed her? He was making a sincere effort to be nice and eager to converse with her. Why wasn't it working? "Well I was watching you, and I thought-" Yuan said, trying to regain his composure.

"Watching me?" Anna snapped. "You were watching me? Like a stalker. Gross." Anna hefted her bag and glared harder at the creepy, blue haired man. "Look pal, I don't what your deal is, but you are giving me the creeps. Find some other girl to 'share your table' and be 'pleasing company.' I am not interested." With that she turned on her heel and stormed away.

Yuan stared after her, open mouthed and completely of balance. "That...did not go well." He reached into his bag and pulled out his cell phone, quickly dialing Botta.

"Botta," Yuan said, glowering while he packed up his things. "I need you to…why are you laughing?...It was not funny!...What—'creeper status?' What does that even mean?!...Stop laughing, damn you!"

* * *

Anna slammed her books down onto a table in the very deserted archaeology section of the stacks. _I am going to speak to the admin office about all the creeps they let into this place! _Anna grabbed her psychology book out of her backpack and flipped it open to the chapter they had reviewed in class and prepared to take notes. She jotted down about three sentences when her pencil broke.

"Martel, curse it!" she growled throwing the pencil down in frustration. It was too much. She was alone and friendless in this big place and was attracting an unusual amount of male attention, but only from males who were very clearly deranged. Why did people keep bothering her? Why couldn't she be left alone?

"Here." A pencil appeared under her nose, starling her. She looked up and saw a young woman, somewhere around her own age, smiling kindly at her as she offered her the pencil.

"Keep it," the girl said. She wore a very simple sleeveless denim dress over a long sleeved white t-shirt. Her white sneakers were chosen for comfort and her greenish-blue hair was pulled back out her face. The large glasses she wore coupled with her shy smile gave her a mouse-like quality, making her seem much younger and more vulnerable.

Anna accepted the pencil. "Um…thanks," she said. "How'd you know?"

Kate hugged herself with one arm and brought her other hand up to her face to push her glasses up her nose. "Don't worry, I wasn't spying on you. I work here and was shelving right behind you."

Anna smiled slightly. "Sorry I was being so loud."

"It's ok," Kate said quietly. "We've all had bad days."

"Very true," Anna agreed. She got to her feet and held out her hand. "I'm Anna, by the way. Anna Ja—Anna Irving. I promise I am not crazy."

Kate hesitated before taking the proffered hand. "Nice to meet you." Kate shook her hand very gently before releasing it quickly. "I'm Kate. I am always here, if you ever need anything."

"Thanks," Anna said. Kate smiled again and walked off into the stacks.

Anna sat back down and began taking notes again, losing herself to her school work. The freshly sharpened pencil Kate had given her rejuvenated her, giving Anna hope that not everyone in the world was out of their flipping minds.

* * *

Kratos leaned back from his computer and rubbed his eyes wearily. He had spent the better part of the day at his laptop, pulling up every bit of research he could on Kvar and Anna Jamison. Using questionable pathways, he was able to access everything: hospital records, financial records, family history, personal property, tax record, employment history. The picture they formed wasn't pretty.

Kvar had a record as a child, a few petty thefts and assault cases, nothing too major. He cleaned up and went into the police force where he apparently served as a very clean, uncorrupt officer. He married and had one daughter and had the cleanest of records until about 15 years ago. Information was passed to the head of the police that Kvar was dealing in black market exsphere with a broker named, Vharley, a rather notorious exsphere dealer. He was suspended from the force without pay and chose not to return, even after the charges were dropped. Instead, he went to work for an exsphere processing plant until his wife passed away. Kratos had also found various traces of Mithos's own seedy business dealings linked to Kvar. Rodyle owned the exsphere plant Kvar worked at and he often was sent to negotiate with other plants, namely those run by Magnius and Forcystsus.

About a year before her passing, Kvar's wife filed for divorce but never followed up with it. That same year, she established a very generous inheritance for Anna with iron-tight measures to prevent Kvar from getting his hands on it. Despite Kratos's best efforts, he could not discover the wife's cause of d. The hospital record listed an undetected heart defect, but no foul play was suspected. The file had likely been doctored, but Kratos could not find out who doctored it or why or what the original file said.

After her mother's passing, Anna's hospital records mounted up. She had been admitted countless time with broken bones, cuts, bruises, and in later years mild internal bleeding. All the records noted the possibility of home trouble, but Kvar moved them around too much for anyone to catch him, notably at Mithos's orders. About three years ago, Mithos dispatched Pronyma to spy on Kvar and Anna and her results landed Kvar the job of heading the Angelus Project.

Anna was a much quieter story. Her grades had been good, and her test scores above average. She was a model student and kept a relatively low profile in school. She seized control of her inheritance at 18, withdrew the entire amount from the bank, and all record of her stopped.

Anna Irving, however, suddenly appeared as though she had just been born yesterday. Kratos's research showed that she had chosen her new alias after a great grandmother and had likely used the family records to obtain new identification. As Anna Irving she bought a car, registered for college, and rented an apartment. She had also deposited a slightly reduced amount of her inheritance in a small, non-corporate bank just outside of Palmacosta.

Kratos shook his head at his notes, his mind presenting him with a very grim picture of Anna's life. So much suffering and pain and not one moment of peace. The fact that she could get out of bed, smile, and hand random strangers their a was nothing short of a miracle.

And Kratos was charged with removing every trace of hope from her life permanently.

He nudged the broken remains of his cell phone thoughtfully. He was glad he has shattered it. Now he could stall for time while getting it replaced. Mithos wouldn't be able to reach him for the next 24-hours and that was all the time Kratos needed to finally make up his mind.

* * *

Anna emerged from the library into the bright sunlight, satisfied with the mornings work. She had completed all of her classwork and had completely rebounded from her bad mood. As she walked to the car, she basked in the warm fall afternoon and decided that she had earned a little relaxation.

Arriving at her apartment she fumbled in her backpack for her keys. They always somehow sank to the bottom of her bag and she had a heck of a time retrieving them. Mumbling a curse she set her books on the ground and used both hands to dig through her bag. Her hand had just closed on the cold metal when a strange noise from behind caused her to look up.

At first glance she saw nothing, but she was definitely sure she had heard something. She paused listening again. There it was.

*whine*

Setting her bag on the ground, she hesitantly approached a clump of bushes on her right, fairly certain that the noise had come from there. It had sounded vaguely animal like and she had always had a soft spot for wounded animals. When she was little, she and her mom spent countless hours patching up all sort of critters, from birds to stray cats. Once they even applied medicine and bandages to a wounded horse. If an animal was in danger now, she wanted to help.

Carefully, she crouched and peered under the bushes and another whine met her ears. Peering into the shadows she saw two faint pin pricks of light.

"Come on out," she said softly. "I won't hurt you."

There was a faint rustling and another whine. "Don't be afraid," Anna cooed softly. "I'll help you." More rustling. Then a small head poked itself out of the bushes into the light.

Anna was fairly certain it was a dog of some kind. At least she hoped. But a green dog? He was clearly still a puppy, but a large puppy. He climbed out of the bushes and wagged his tail feebly, looking up at Anna with rather intelligent eyes. His ears were large and bat-like and his dense fur was green and white. He stood almost as high as Anna's knee.

"Well," Anna said. "Aren't you something?" She held out her hand for him to sniff, which he did. Slowly she rubbed his fur, trying not to scare him, and grimaced as she felt his ribs. The poor thing was skin and bones.

"I bet you're hungry," she said, slowly getting to her feet. She retrieved her keys from her bag and unlocked her front door. She held it open and looked back at the dog. "Wanna come inside little guy?"

The dog cocked his head to one side and looked at her, eyes questioning. Anna shook herself mentally. He's a dog. Dogs don't have different looks. And they certainly don't ask question.

"I'll feed you," Anna said gently. "You'd like that wouldn't you."

The dog let out a yip and bounded through the door, all for the world like he understood her.

"Great," Anna sighed, stepping into her apartment. "A dog who can understand humans. Can this day get weirder?"

* * *

Kvar observed the facility with the cold calculating demeanor that he applied to everything in his life. He was honored that Lord Yggdrasill had deemed him worthy enough to use this facility and run his plan. Kvar had proven himself, with only two slip ups since he joined Mithos. Vharley was to blame for the first, but Kvar supposed he should thank the scoundrel. The involvement freed him from police work and he was able to commit himself fully to Lord Yggdrasill's plans.

The Angelus project was the start. Yggdrasill had revealed to Kvar that Cruxis Crystals would be created and distributed to an elite group of people. Those people would control the world and the dwindling mana supply as soon as Yggdrasill took over. The rest would be imprisoned by their power, to work and tend the land until their pitiful lives ended. There would be order, peace, and control. Kvar was thrilled that he had been chosen and was willing to sacrifice anything for Mithos's new world order.

Including his worthless daughter.

Kvar growled as he thought of the chit, the stupid whore who had surprised him and gotten the upper hand. After she fled, he sought her out at the Martel Temple, where she supposedly worked, and found that she had lied. She had never worked there. Judging by their last encounter, it wasn't hard to guess that she had used her "job" as a cover to plan her escape. Now she had dropped off the grid entirely, putting Kvar in a very precarious situation.

"Kvar." Pronyma's voice shook him from his thoughts. He looked up at her, eyes lingering on her tight fitting, risqué business attire. Pronyma smiled at his attention before getting back to business. "The facility is everything you should need. The holding cells are sound, the exsphere processing plant well hidden within the facility. The location is secluded. You should be able to process up to 50 subjects at one time, once the project gets under way. That will take time of course, particularly if your…primary subject is not recovered soon."

"Stupid girl," Kvar snarled. "Traitorous brat, running like that. No different than her wretched mother."

"She will be found," Pronyma said. "I have not known our agent to fail yet. Though I would be careful you do not lose her again once she is found."

"I will not lose her," Kvar said, his red eyes alight with hate. "She will learn, like her mother, that she cannot escape me so easily. Pathetic inferior beings."

* * *

Anna settled the dog over the next couple of hours feeding him, walking him and slowly getting acquainted with him. By the time she went to bed that night, the dog acted as though they were old friends. However, something was a little off about the dog, making Anna wonder where he came from. It was surprisingly well trained, even house broken. It obeyed her as though she had been his owner for years. In fact…everything she said to it, he behaved as though he understood, responding to her voice with strangely expressive eyes or a variety of yips, barks, and whines. Still, he was a sweet dog and Anna was happy to have a companion. Now he just needed a name…

Anna got up early the next morning and set-up an appointment at the local animal shelter to update the dogs shots and see if they could help identify him. Fortunately, they told her that he was fully immunized. Unfortunately, no one could identify what type of dog it was. Anna shrugged it off and proceeded to the local pet supply store, buying a leash, food and water dishes, toys, and a collar. She held off on the tag, not sure what she was naming him yet and instead wrote her name and address on the collar with a permanent marker.

Once she settled everything back at home she decided that it was too nice a day to sit in doors and the sparkling ocean beckoned from her windows. It was still warm for fall so she decided a trip to the beach was in order before the days turned cooler.

"What do you think boy?" Anna said, stroking her dog's head. "Up for a trip to the beach?" The dog barked and pranced around in a circle, causing Anna to laugh. "I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

Kratos stood at his window, staring at the city without really seeing it. His mind kept leaping back and forth over his current dilemma. Should he help Mithos proceed down a path from which there would be not return? His boss, his friend…could he really turn on him? But at the same time could he really be responsible for the death of an innocent? Moreover, and innocent who had already known a great deal of suffering? But then again, he didn't know this girl. What could he possibly owe her?

Kratos sighed and grabbed his jacket. He needed to get out. He needed to be in the open air and think. He left his apartment, taking the long elevator ride down to the lobby. As he stepped into the bright sunlight, he squinted up at the cloudless sky, taking a moment to appreciate its deep blue.

_There's so little beauty left in this decaying world. Especially with Martel gone. Even though the war is over, did we really solve anything? Mithos has replaced war with extortion. If he has his way he will control everything in both worlds and bring the entire world to ruin. Now with this Angelus project…destroying innocent lives to create these damn crystals that grant us super human abilities? Does he think he is a god? Does he think his vow to Origin to prevent future wars gives him the right to use any means necessary? And to think, the vow rests on me…in me. If I die, Mithos's power is broken._

Kratos stopped in his tracks. Perhaps that was the answer. Perhaps if he ended his life, he could stop the Angelus Project and Mithos's dictatorship. Mithos would be left without the power granted to him by Origin and without the Eternal Sword, the symbol of the vow Mithos had with Origin that he used to wield such influence over the rulers of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. Would taking those things away be enough? Could Kratos even do it?

Kratos kept walking, heading in the direction of the beach, debating with himself all the while. He realized Yuan had been right about one thing: his "moral code." The more Kratos thought about it, the more he didn't think he could face handing Anna over. It was wrong. A lot of things were wrong. This project was wrong, Mithos was wrong. And Kratos had helped with every sleazy scheme Mithos had concocted up until now. Had he finally reached the breaking point?

The loud sound of barking roused him from his thoughts. Glancing down he saw a large green and white dog with bat-like ears yipping happily at him while running around in a circle. Kratos looked at the dog in shock.

"Noishe?" Kratos said, thunderstruck. Noishe barked at Kratos and jumped up, resting his paws on Kratos's leg. Kratos couldn't believe his eyes. Noishe had been Kratos's dog for many years, from childhood onward. About 10 years ago, Noishe had mysteriously vanished, leaving Kratos heartbroken. Or at least a heartbroken as Kratos could be. He had searched everywhere, but never found him. Now here he was. Kratos crouched down and gave a gleeful Noishe a good scratch. Noishe was no ordinary dog: he was a protozoan. Protozoans were remarkable creatures, living for hundreds of years and taking on certain animal forms. They could be fish, birds, or dogs. Legend had it that near the end of their life cycle, they evolved into a human destined to fight evil.

Kratos couldn't believe he was looking at his old friend and was thrilled that Noishe seemed to know him. As he scratched behind Noishe's head, his hand brushed leather. Looking down he saw a collar with something written on it. Cocking his head to the side so he could read it better he took in the owner's name and address and received yet another shock.

Anna Irving.

Then, on cue, he heard a vaguely familiar shout.

"Oy! Hold that dog!"

Kratos looked up to see Anna running towards them, a broken leather leash in her hand. Kratos grinned. Noishe was deceptively strong and could only be confined by a metal leash. Anna reached them and bent over, hands on her knees, panting and sweating profusely.

"Thanks…" she breathed, clutching a stitch in her side. "He…broke the leash…thought he was gone. You—" Anna looked up and stared at Kratos for a moment shock registering on her face. Then, she broke into a laugh, taken Kratos aback.

"It's you." Anna shook her head. "Of course it's you. Why wouldn't it be?"

It's nice to see you too," Kratos said diplomatically.

"Yeah…" Anna looked at him appraisingly for a minute before turning her attention to the Noishe. "You, sir, are a little rascal," she crouched down and scratched the dog behind his ears. "Maybe that's what I'll call you."

"How long have you had Noishe?" Kratos asked, trying to appear nonchalant.

Anna looke dup. "Noishe? Is this dog yours?"

Kratos winced on the inside. So much for being smooth and nonchalant. "No. He belonged to a friend…he…moved. I thought Noishe went with him."

"Oh," Anna said looking a little forlorn. "I had hoped he was a stray. But if you know the owner, you'd best take him and give him back." Anna straightened up from her crouch. She heaved a sigh and Kratos saw her shoulders droop. "He's a good dog."

Kratos did not like to see her sad. She looked far too vulnerable. Overcome with a strange urge to protect her, he spoke without thinking. "Don't look so sad, please. You keep him."

Anna looked up at him again. "But you know his owner…"

"His owner was a jerk," Kratos said, knowing full well the validity of his statement. "He was…a coward and a fool…someone who should have taken better care of him. Who should have stood up and done the right thing instead of standing by and watching a lot of bad things happen…"

"We aren't talking about the dog anymore are we?" Anna asked quietly.

Kratos shook himself from his reverie. "No…I don't believe we are."

Anna fidgeted a moment. "Kratos…would you like to go for a walk with us?" She pointed at Noishe. "He doesn't really need the leash. The first time he pulled was when he saw you. He's a smart fellow." Anna smiled crookedly. "I guess if Noishe likes you…you can only be but so horrible."

Noishe barked twice and looked up at Anna.

"I don't think—" Kratos began but broke off as Noishe sunk his teeth into Kratos's pant leg and tugged gently. Kratos looked down at the dog that was once his. Noishe looked back, wagging his tail and staring at Kratos with an eager look in his very intelligent eyes.

Anna laughed. "I think he insists."

Kratos smiled slightly and Anna observed how much younger he looked when he smiled. And tried to ignore how attractive he was when he smiled.

"Who am I to refuse then?"

They set off, walking in a silence that was neither awkward nor quite yet companionable. Anna had so many questions about this man with an angel's eyes but how to start? Why even be curious? She'd be lying to herself if she said that the only reason she'd invited him on a walk was because the dog…Noishe liked him. She was curious about this man with such sad eyes…but how to get her answers?

Anna opened her mouth to say something charming and witty and instead spat out, "Why did you snoop through my schedule?" Kratos looked at her and she felt herself blush. "Yeah…that was supposed to come out differently."

Kratos nodded and thought fast. What could he tell her? _I was charged with hunting you down and I needed to know what you had changed your name to so I could find you again and turn you over to a maniac who wants to control the world, resurrect his dead sister and make everyone sprout wings?_

Not a very good idea.

"I suppose," he said quietly, choosing his words carefully. "I suppose I was curious."

"Why would you be curious about me?" Anna asked, looking at him and tilting her head to one side so that the sun caught her brown eyes, making them sparkle.

"Your eyes," Kratos said without thinking. "I wanted to know the person behind those eyes."

Anna replied with a soft "oh" and stared down at the ground, unsure of what to say. His interest in her was so close to her own…and had he just given her a compliment? Her heart thudded in her chest. _Oh god…why am I suddenly giddy. Calm down. You don't need this, remember?_

Kratos cleared his throat, willing the heat in his face to recede. "I'm sorry. That was...strange of me to say. I snooped because I just wanted to know your name. I don't really know why." _Liar._

"Well you know it now," Anna pointed out. "What else did you want to know?"

Kratos thought for a moment. "Tell me about yourself. Your family. Your school. Your hobbies."

Anna clenched a fist at the word family and Kratos saw the shadows bleed into her eyes, despite the fact that ducked her head low to hide her grimace. He knew she would lie to him, but he wanted to hear what she said. Maybe she wouldn't lie. Maybe she'd tell the truth. Maybe the truth wasn't as bad as his reports indicated.

"My mom ded when I was 10," she said quietly. "And my dad…I never knew him."

Kratos sighed, but understood her reason for lying. He was actually impressed at her cover story. Saying she never knew him made him harder to track. If she gave too many details, some like Kratos himself could make the appropriate connections.

"So you're all alone?" he asked. "There's no one?"

Anna shook her head. "No. It's ok though. I get by. My mom left me some financial help for school and I saved money to be able to live. I'm lucky in that I guess. But I miss her. I hope she'd be proud of me for going to college. I know she'd like that I was majoring in art history. We used to go to museums all the time when I was a kid."

The loving tone in her voice struck a chord deep in Kratos's own heart. He had been part of family once. Long time ago. He had suffered similar losses. The kinds of losses that change a person completely. He understood that.

"After that well…I bounced around from place to place. I studied, took art classes. Read through entire libraries. I love to read and paint and draw."

"I bet you are a very good artist," Kratos said sincerely.

"What makes you say that?" Anna asked, puzzled.

"You have a keen eye for detail and you miss nothing." Kratos looked at her and gave her a half-smile. "You call me out every time I falter when I speak and you are observant of everything and everyone."

"Well you shouldn't be so mysterious," Anna said. "You…are an enigma. I feel like half of every word you speak is the truth, but I wouldn't call you a liar."

"You wouldn't?"

Anna shook her head. "I think you tell part of the truth. I think you are a man of few words because you don't want to outwardly lie. I also think you are hiding a secret and really wish you didn't have to hide it."

Kratos stopped walking and Noishe sat obediently. Ann stopped too and looked back at him, her gaze unflinching as her eyes bore into his. She knew she was right. The shocked look on his face was no surprise. What he didn't know was how she could possibly describe him so well. All his life he had been dubbed mysterious and unknowable. Even Yuan, who he was probably the closet too, couldn't always fathom him. But this girl could?

"How could you possibly perceive that?" Kratos asked.

Anna frowned, the shadows in her eyes deepening. "I have seen the shadows up close. I have seen them turn people into monsters. And I know the victims of those monsters all too well."

Kratos raised his hand and gently put it on her shoulder. The both paused, feeling a strange current pass through the air, something between electricity and fire. Anna unconsciously leaned into his touch and Kratos didn't pull away…

Until Noishe barked insistently at them.

Anna laughed and pulled back. "Noishe is right. No sense being sad on such a pretty day." Anna looked out as the crystalline blue ocean and closed her eyes, letting the sun warm her face and the wind blow away the remnants of her past. Then she turned and grinned at Kratos. "I'm not going to let the past drag me down. I am going to live happily and live freely. And you should too!"

That brought a chuckle from Kratos. "Pehaps I will…Anna."

Anna laughed and grabbed Kratos's hand, feling the current again and deciding that she was going to enjoy this starnge chat as long as she could.

"C'mon!" she chirped. "I'm getting an ice cream. And you are too. No objections!"

Anna dragged Kartos off and Noishe trailed happily in their wake.

* * *

CW

* * *

You know what to do!


	6. You are the Faith Inside Me

A few things:

First and foremost thank you to diety, splitheart1120, oki-the-great, InuNaruPokeAlchemist for their reviews. You guys rock!

Second, I AM SO SORRY! Real life got in the way. I promise that updates will not take this long in the future. Count on at least monthly updates.

Third, on with the show!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

CW

* * *

Mithos stood at his window, gazing out to the world that was just the start of everything he hoped to rule: Welgaia. High up above the worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant loomed the planet of Derris Kharlan, the embodiment of Mithos's dreams. He alone knew its secrets. He alone would rule it. His Desians and his Seraphim would see to it.

But something wasn't right.

The doors behind him slid open with a soft hiss and the clacking sound of thin heels on the tile floor announced Pronyma's arrival. "You wanted to see me, Lord Yggdrasill?

Mithos turned from the window. "Are affairs in order for Kvar at the Asgard ranch?" Mithos asked.

"Yes my lord," Pronyma replied. "The matter of the test subject is the only thing halting production."

Mithos nodded and turned back to the window. "Pronyma, I have a new assignment for you. One of upmost secrecy. I am entrusting this only to you. Do not discuss it with a soul."

"Yes my Lord," Pronyma said again with a slight bow, touched that he would trust her so.

"You are to find Kratos Aurion and you are to follow him."

"Lord Kratos?" Pronyma asked. "But why?"

"Do not ask questions," Mithos snapped, spinning around and glaring at her. "Do as your told. Report only to me and tell no one of this assignment."

"As you wish, Lord Yggdrasill." Pronyma bowed again and left.

* * *

Kratos and Anna continued walking down the boardwalk, Anna slurping her ice cream enthusiastically while Kratos consumed his in a more dignified way. Noishe trotted about them in circle, yapping happily at passing seagulls and pausing so that the occasional curious child could give him a thorough pat. As they walked, they traded stories about their past, both with small nuggets of the truth embedded in their lies, and talked about their hobbies and interests. Kratos discovered that Anna was an avid reader like himself and was very knowledgeable about technology, a passion they both shared.

"I've heard that there are these small aircrafts they are testing," she told him. "They are single man vessels and can travel around the entirety of the world in less than three hours."

"Yes, they are called Reihards I believe," Kratos said. "They use mana as a power source."

"Yes exactly!" Anna said excitedly, polishing off her ice cream. "Although if this mana shortage continues, I don't see how such a vehicle would function."

"Hopefully the leaders of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla will solve the issue," Kratos said.

"Maybe. But I think it will really be down to whoever wins the election." Anna shook her head. "I can't believe they are expecting one person to rule both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant."

"Yes..." Kratos said, thinking of Mithos. "It does not seem entirely wise."

"Especially if that Yggdrasill moron wins." Anna glared at the ground. "I hear he's a real piece of work."

Kratos swallowed hard and attempted to steer the conversation away from Yggdrasill. Glancing out at the ocean, he realized that the sun was setting and that their day had come to an end. Sighing-he was actually sad to part ways-he looked at Anna. She had stopped and was staring at the sunset as though in a trance. She walked over and leaned against the boardwalk railing, the wind gently waving through her hair.

"I love this time of day usually," she said softly. "It's right on the edge of day and night. The world becomes a different place, awash in different colors. It's as though everything turns to light and shadow and details are washed out in the molten copper and gold of the setting sun. Even the ocean glows golden. It's an end and a beginning." She sighed. "But today...I don't know how I feel about the end part."

Kratos stepped up next to her and rested his arm on the rail close to hers. "Why is that?" he asked, wary of the answer. She said nothing, merely stared transfixed at the sun. Kratos stared out at the sea too, his mind racing. Sunset. The day was at an end and it was time to make his decision and he still didn't know what to do.

Anna shivered slightly as the sun made its slow descent. Not only was the air cooling off, but he stood so close to her, the man with the angel eyes. The day had been so pleasant, so peaceful. She had enjoyed his company and she wanted more. She wanted to walk for hours and talk, hearing the sound of his voice, treasuring the small smiles that sometimes slipped through his grim facade. She felt like she had only scratched the surface of who this man was...and she still wanted to know more.

"I don't want today to end," she said finally. "It was...nice talking with you. It's a shame it must stop now."

Kratos nodded. "I was...actually thinking the same thing."

They said nothing for a long while as the world descended into to darkness slowly. As the sun finally slipped just below the horizon, painting the sky in a rainbow of purples, blues, reds, and oranges, Kratos slowly reached out and placed his hand on hers.

Anna shivered at the contact and the sensation the washed over her, just like it had before. It was both terrifying and wonderful.

Kratos removed his hand and Anna opened her mouth to object before she could stop herself. Before she could, however, a warm weight settled around her shoulders as Kratos draped his large leather jacket around her. She smiled up at him and he rewarded her with another small smile before staring back out at the ocean. With his attention elsewhere, she pulled the jacket around her and breathed in the scent of him on it: mystery, darkness, and fire all somehow wrapped up in one scent.

"Thank you," she finally said.

"You're welcome." Kratos turned away from the ocean. "I suppose I should escort you back to your home."

Despite wanting to spend more time with him, she felt herself balk at the idea of showing him where she lived. Having operated so long in secrecy to hide from her father, her apartment had become her refuge, the last safe place she could ever remember having. As much as she liked Kratos, she wasn't ready to lead him there yet.

"Please do not trouble yourself," she said. "I can see myself home. I have Noishe after all."

Kratos looked at her with something unidentifiable in his eyes. "I insist."

Anna shook her head. "It's really unnecessary. I'm a ...private person. I don't-"

Kratos gripped her shoulders and turned her around to face him. "Don't be a fool," he said, his voice low and husky with something like anger or frustration. "This is the real world. There are dangers lurking here that you know nothing of. Any one you meet could be t to harm you. You must be careful. You mustn't take risks. You must stay safe."

Anna stared into his eyes, slightly afraid. He had hit the core of her greatest fear: that someone was out to get her. Why would he say that? How did he know she feared it?

Kratos loosened his hold on her, shocked at himself. He didn't know what came over him. All he knew was that thought of her heading into the darkness alone with no one but Noishe between her and the danger that surrounded her made him go cold. He was in over his head. He could no longer separate his knowledge of her as a person from the confines of his duty. She wasn't a name on a piece of paper anymore. She was a human being, a passionate and engaging woman in his mind.

"Forgive me," he said, asking for more forgiveness than he could ever possibly receive from her. He let her go completely. "I do not know what came over me. I am merely concerned for your safety. Please allow me to escort you home. I will accompany to your street, not your house. "

Anna nodded, trembling slightly. She set off, clutching his coat around her. Glancing sideways at him, she attempted to get back some of her fearless bravado. "Quite the macho man, aren't we?"

Kratos sighed. "No...I have just seen too much."

Anna nodded and thought for a moment. "You're not really a computer programmer are you?" she asked, repeating his cover story from earlier.

"No," Kratos admitted. "I am not."

"We all have our secrets to bear," Anna said. They walked in silence again, even Noishe was quiet. As they turned onto Anna's street she stopped and looked up at him. "Well this was...interesting," she said lamely, trying to peg exactly what today had been and failing miserably.

"Indeed," Kratos said.

Anna fidgeted for a moment and stared up into his eyes, the eyes that haunted her dreams. Then she made her decision without thinking.

"I want to see you again," Anna blurted out, and then ducked her head as she blushed furiously.

Kratos didn't know what to say. Truthfully, he wanted that as well, but he was no longer sure if that was a good idea. He had reached his decision. He had to report to Mithos. He had to move on.

"I can't," he replied quietly.

Anna's head shot up and she glared at him, hoping to mask the hurt in her eye. What did he want from her then? He had snooped, stalked, talked, gone all funny about trying to protect her and now he didn't want to see her again.

Kratos cut her off before she could speak, unable to stand the anger and hurt in her eyes. "Not that I don't want to," he said. "But I...am leaving town soon. For work."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "More 'computer programming?'" Kratos shrugged. "When will you be back?"

"I...do not know for certain," he said evasively.

"I see," Anna said icily. She yanked his coat from around her shoulders and thrust it back at him. "Well, I shall take my leave now, Mr. Aurion. Have fun on your "business trip," she said making air quotes with her hands before turning on her heel and walking away.

Kratos called after her, "Wait."

Anna stopped.

Kratos sighed. "I am...forced to do things that I am against," he said through gritted teeth. "The thought of leaving like this is...most unpleasant." He walked over to her as she turned around. "I do want to see you again," he said.

"Look," Anna said, propping her hands on her hips. "We both want to see each other, you have to leave town, blah blah blah." Anna scowled. "See me, briefly, tomorrow and then you can be on your merry little way."

Kratos thought for a moment. Mithos would order him somewhere else…but surely he could see Anna very quickly in the morning…couldn't he?

"How about coffee at 9?" Kratos asked.

Anna smiled. "Sounds good." She pulled his jacket off and held it out for him, but he pushed it back at her and shook his head.

"It's cold," he said. "You hang on to it."

"Thank you," she said softly, covering herself with the jacket again. "For...everything I guess."

"Be safe, Anna." Anna smiled once and headed off into the night. Noishe stared up at Kratos. "Go on," he whispered to the dog. "Stay with her. And keep her safe." Noishe woofed quietly and trotted off after Anna. Kratos watched them go long after the darkness had swallowed them up. At last he turned and headed for home. He stopped off to buy a replacement cell phone. It was time to face Mithos. He had made his decision.

He could not allow Mithos or Kvar to ever get their hands on Anna.

* * *

Kratos had barely activated his replacement phone when it rang shrilly. He winced at the default loud ringtone. These cell phone companies always seemed to find the most annoying noises to put on their phones. It did not help that he had hypersensitive ears. He didn't have to look at the caller ID to know who it was.

"Aurion," he said calmly.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

"I have been scouting Palmacosta as ordered," Kratos told Mithos calmly. "I had a small mishap with my cellular device."

"Did you find the girl?"

Kratos swallowed hard. _No turning back…_ "No. I did not. She is not here. The next stop on my list is Asgard."

"Then I want you in the next plausible location by tomorrow," Mithos snapped.

"It may take longer—."

"I don't care about you excuses!" Mithos roared. "Get to Asgard and find that bitch!"

Kratos gripped his phone so hard that he heard plastic crack as white hot fury swarmed him. "I understand my lord," he said, his voice like ice.

Kratos snapped the phone closed and examined the small crack in the brand new screen. It didn't matter. He would steer the investigation away from Anna, that's all.

But for how long could he deceive Mithos?

_I'll have to cancel tomorrow…_ he thought_. If I go back to her, they may find her. I have lingered too long already. I can't risk any more contact. I will move on…I must leave her behind._

He thought about leaving and realized he had no way to contact her. He could see it now, her waiting at the coffee shop, staring out the window, looking up every time the door opened with a hopeful smile on her face only to be let down. She'd wait, maybe for a while, and then she'd slouch off home, her eyes downcast, the fire in them having gone out.

His heart wrenched at the thought._ I've got to see her. _ _One more time. I've got to warn her. They mustn't take her. Anyone but her._

Kratos sighed heavily and stalked off into the night. He failed to notice the dark figure staring at him from the shadows.

* * *

Anna sat in the coffee shop where she had agreed to meet Kratos wondering for the millionth time what was wrong with her. She had no business getting closer to anyone. Especially him!

And yet as she sat there, her eyes unwillingly roamed the sea of strangers looking for a flash of auburn hair or a glint of purple from his strange glove. It was stupid, she knew that. Kratos was dangerous…very dangerous. And yet she still looked. And hoped.

But as the clock ticked toward nine, she became doubtful that he would show. Every time the door swung open, she felt the cold lead weight of shattered expectations sink into her stomach when it wasn't him. It was foolish she knew, but she felt drawn to the man. Especially since the angel in her dreams began to look more and more like him. That definitely didn't help. However, despite her tragic upbringing, Anna was still the optimistic sort. She tried to believe that Kratos would show. She had to believe that anyway.

"No matter how hard you stare, you cannot force him to appear," said a cold, snide voice from behind her.

Anna jumped and spun around. Behind her stood the blue-haired man that had given her the creeps before. He was just a she remembered, that odd combination of sly, charming, and deadly. And he was still looking at her like she was some sort of conquest.

"What do you want?" she snapped, piercing him with her fiercest glare.

He held up both hands in mock-surrender. "Nothing, nothing. I just came over to make small talk."

"Make it with someone else," she growled and turned back to the window. Despite resolutely ignoring him, Anna could still feel the man's eyes on the back of her neck. She wished she had something to protect herself with. She was skilled in self-defense, but this was no drunken buffoon like her father. She sensed that any fight with this man would not end very well.

Why was he still staring at her?

"Look!" Anna yelled, spinning back around. "You've got about two seconds to clear off or I am going to shove my foot so far up your ass that you will have to spit out my boots!"

He grinned. "I see why he likes you."

Anna lifted her foot threateningly.

"I do apologize," the creepy guy said quickly. "I'm a friend of Kratos's. And I did actually want to apologize for offending you the other day. And today it seems." He inclined his head solemnly. "My name is Yuan."

"Is that your real name?" Anna demanded.

"Of course."

"And how do you know Kratos?"

"We are business associates."

"Oh I see," Anna said rolling her eyes. "Another 'computer programmer,' right?" Anna said, making quote marks with her hands.

"Not the most unique occupation in the world," Yuan said with a sneer. "But hardly worth that much disdain."

"Whatever," Anna said, turning around and sighed heavily. "So you know Kratos. Did he send you or something? He's standing me up, isn't he?"

"No," Yuan said. "I just wanted to meet you for myself." Yuan smirked again and it seemed to Anna that his face was constantly in a state of casual disdain for everything around him. "He seems quite preoccupied with you. I've known him for years. And now meeting you…I can see why."

Anna willed herself not to blush and failed miserably. So Kratos was…preoccupied with her huh? She shouldn't be happy about that, but she was. It couldn't be helped.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Anna said.

Yuan smiled. "I'm sure you don't, but you are intriguing." Yuan gallantly lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her fingers. "I would very much like to find out why."

She snatched her hand back. She had to find another table, preferably one in the corner where this man couldn't sneak up on her. "I would very much like for you to disappear. You may know Kratos but you're still creepy. So if you'll excuse me." She stood and started to brush past him but he held up a hand to stop her.

"He is not what you think," Yuan said in her ear calmly. "You would do well to run before you can no longer escape."

Anna shoved hard into his shoulder and Yuan stepped aside. She stormed away, moving to a free booth at the opposite end of the coffee shop. She glared ferociously while Yuan smirked at her retreating figure.

* * *

CWKratos stood, paralyzed in the street. He blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. No matter how many times he shook himself mentally, he was still seeing the awful sight.

Anna was sitting in the window. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and her deep red blouse was accented by a knee length skirt in a deep black. With the sunlight glowing around her head, bringing honey colored streaks to her chestnut hair, she looked absolutely stunning.

But that wasn't the awful sight. The awful sight came as he took one step toward the coffee shop door. A flash of blue stopped him dead and he stared in horror as Yuan slid up behind her. Kratos could see the smile on his face; feel that phony charm oozing straight through the glass window. As he gaped, he saw Yuan take Anna's hand and press her fingers gently to his lips.

That blue haired bastard!

Kratos stormed across the street, fully intending to rip Yuan into a thousand tiny, arrogant, charming pieces. He yanked the coffee shop door open and instinctively those standing nearest the door drew back, eyeing the fuming man with surprise and a touch of alarm.

Anna didn't see him however. Instead she stood, and started to move away from Yuan, but he cut her off. Smiling cruelly he leaned in and whispered something in her ear and Kratos felt his blood run cold before anger shot through him again. Before he could intervene, Anna shoved Yuan, hard enough to make him stumble, and retreated to an empty booth in the corner.

Yuan watched her go, before turning around and walking over to Kratos.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kratos snapped, grabbing his collar with both hands and yanking it toward him until they were face to face.

Yuan raised one eyebrow. "Interesting. I intended to make the same inquiry of you."

"Stay away from her," Kratos said. "Or I will kill you. In every single way that I know you fear."

Kratos released Yuan and took one step towards Anna.

"Not if your interference kills her first, Kratos," Yuan said quietly. It didn't matter. He knew Kratos heard him. He knew from the way the auburn haired man stopped, his shoulders stiffening as the truth sank in.

"I found you," Yuan said. "I found her. Don't think no one else will."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kratos asked, still not facing him. "Why haven't you just turned her in? Turned me in?"

Yuan paused for a moment. "I think you know." Kratos shoulders slumped slightly as he understood Yuan's meaning. Yuan continued. "That pain, that agony…I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Get out before it's too late. For you and for her."

Yuan left as quietly as he approached, leaving Kratos stranded in the middle of the crowded room. The words…he couldn't get them out of his head. He knew Yuan was right, he was being foolish, had been foolish all along. Why? What was it about this girl, the one sitting there gazing out of the window, waiting for him? She had seen so much evil in the world, how could he possibly risk bringing her more? Did he actually think for one moment he could be redeemed by her hopeful smile and her fiery determination? Hadn't he accepted his fate a long time ago?

Kratos had stood there too long. He had to decide: take that step forward or retreat into his past. What to do?

_Get out before it's too late. For you and for her._

At that moment Anna turned and looked at him. Her face lit up, her brown eyes sparkling as she smiled warmly at him. Kratos felt the rest of the world fade away until the entirety of existence became her smile. There was nothing else. Just that smile. So Kratos did the only thing he could do.

He ran.

* * *

Anna stared for two seconds as Kratos turned and quickly fled the coffee shop. Fortunately, she was not one to sit and blink stupidly in the midst of a crisis. No, Anna Jamison fought tooth and nail for everything she'd ever had, including her freedom.

So when Kratos rushed away, she immediately took off after him, leaving her still warm coffee abandoned on her table. As she emerged onto the street, she looked through the crowd rushing around her. Kratos could not have gotten far. A flash of red caught her eye and she turned just in time to see him slip through a large crowd of tourist and out of sight.

She was not so gentle, she plunged through the crowd, shoving and pushing as she tore after him. She didn't really care that Kratos was fleeing, but she be damned before he ran off without giving her a reason. As she hurtled around a corner, she saw him look over his shoulder, his face registering a faint look of surprise when he realized she was chasing him. He didn't not slow however, but vaulted over a bench and tore down an alley way. Anna was hot on his heels. She ran three steps into the gloomy alley before hands closed around her shoulders and shoved her into the shadows against the alley wall.

She reacted on instinct, the instinct of too many sleepless, terrified nights. As soon as her back hit the wall, Anna threw her head forward with all her strength, slamming her forehead in the nose of her attacker. The collision was accompanied by a loud grunt of surprise and pain.

"Kratos?" she asked, surprised as he hunched over, one hand covering his profusely bleeding nose. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting my nose broken by a madwoman, it would seem," he said coolly, straightening up and wiping blood away from his face.

"Well don't grab me!" Anna shot back. "And also sorry" she added begrudgingly.

Kratos grimaced and reached up for his nose with both hands. There was a sharp crack and a hiss of pain as he popped his nose back into place.

"Why are you following me?" he said, glaring down at her.

"Why are you running?" Anna demanded. "I was waiting for you. You took one look at me and ran for your life. I don't care if you don't like me, but you at least better have the decency to offer me an explanation." That last part was a lie. She would care if he didn't like her. She would care way too much.

"Is it always your instinct to chase after random strangers?"

"Is it always your instinct to act like a crazy person?"

"I'm crazy, yet here I stand with a broken nose."

"I said don't grab me!"

"If you had not chased me, I would not have grabbed you."

"Well if you weren't such a coward—!"

"Enough!" Kratos said, suddenly, his eyes blazing. He drew in close placing his hands against the wall on either side of her head, trapping her with his body as he towered over her menacingly. Anna swallowed hard, trying to hide the rush of emotions within her. Fear, remnants of many nights like this with a much more terrifying opponent; anger that Kratos had run from her; and hurt that he seemed in search of an escape route.

However, what she felt most of all was heat. He was so close. His torso was almost touching her, they eyes were boring into each other, their lips were a inches apart. She could feel the fire rolling off him, smell him, a combination of aftershave and something dark and forbidden, something wild and animalistic.

"You want to know why I ran," Kratos said quietly, his voice low and dangerous. "I ran because I had to. I ran because those shadows I warned you of are closing in."

Anna's heart jumped. Her father…her past… "It can't be," she said, hating the pleading note in her voice. "It can't…I've come so far."

"I know," Kratos said. "I know and you have to keep going. But you can't do that with me standing in your way. You have to let me leave and you have to forget me, Anna. Or you'll be dragged down into a hell like you have never seen before."

"How do you know?" she asked. "How do you always know?!"

"I won't say trust me," Kratos said. "I know you can't. You don't know me. So I'll say this...are you prepared to run the risk? Do you feel confident in your freedom enough to take the chance? Are you prepared for the consequences, any consequences, which you courted by following me down this alley?"

Anna stared in horror. It was like he could see right past her confident resolve. Like he knew everything she was afraid of. The man with the angelic eyes...how could he know her soul so well?

* * *

She was so close. So close, so very close. Kratos could almost feel her heart beating; see the myriad of emotions running across those amazing eyes of hers. What was he thinking? He was trying to warn her off and yet he had brought them closer together than they had ever stood before. He had to warn her off, scared her away, make her leave and yet he could only think of one thing.

She was so close…

"I am not who you think," he said." Kratos closed his eyes and took a deep breath. That was a mistake. Her scent overwhelmed his sensitive nose and he had to clamp down on the urge to do it again. What was happening to him?

"I've seen the shadows," Kratos said. "I've seen evil. I know you have too. I can see it in your fear, in your determination, in those scars you try to hide under bravado and optimism. I always recognize a fellow soldier. You cannot fight this one, Anna."

Anna swallowed hard. "I can't run. I have done my running. At some point you have to take a stand."

"No!" Kratos said sharply. "Not this time. Not yet." Kratos pressed even closer. "Keep your head down and do not fight this one. Stay hidden. Stay safe. I'll leave and you'll never hear of this again. You'll never see any sign of destruction again."

"I'll never see you again…" she whispered.

"And you thank Origin for that every day," Kratos said gruffly.

"No," she replied, glaring. "I won't."

"You don't even know me," Kratos pointed out.

"I know enough," Anna said stubbornly. "I know you want hurt me. Even now…we're in the dark alley, completely cut off from any source of help that my scream could bring. You have me cornered, which is a feat in and of itself since I never let a man back me into a corner. Not now." Anna stared into his eyes and Kratos entertained a brief thought that she could see past his eyes into his heart. "Even with all of that…I know you are not thinking of hurting me. You never would."

"Then what am I thinking?" Kratos asked defiantly.

"You are thinking about kissing me," Anna said with a smirk.

Kratos's eyes widened and he stared at her in shock. Kiss her? He had barely been able to get past the fact of that he was standing so near her. He was thinking of kissing her? He hadn't been.

But he was now…sweet Origin, he was now. He had to get away before he gave in. He had to keep her safe. He had to—

"Kiss me, Kratos," Anna said. "Kiss me and I will let you go."

…Damn.

Kratos didn't so much kiss her as attack her. He crushed his body into hers and captured her lips with his. Anna didn't seem to mind. On the contrary she reached up, tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him even harder against her. Impatient, she nipped at his lip and he let her in, tasting her and wanting to consume her. He was on fire. Ever nerve in his body was burning and all he could think was that if he ever were to die, he hoped to hell it would be right here, right now, in this haze of passion and bliss.

Then, without warning, Anna shoved hard against his chest and Kratos stumbled back away from her. For a moment he was confused, conscious only of the fact that his body was suddenly very cold and his lips were no longer connected to Anna's. Then his brain reengaged and he looked at Anna, who glared back at him.

"Get out of here," she said. "Don't come back."

Kratos stumbled back another step and finally regained his composure. He pulled out one of his business cards and pressed it into Anna's hand.

"Call this number," he said quickly. "If what you are running from ever catches up with you, call this number. I'll be here in an instant. I won't let anything harm you."

"Why?" Anna demanded. "Why would you even bother?"

Kratos didn't answer. Instead he leaned down again and kissed her, very gently this time, but still letting her feel the full extent of the flames that had engulfed them before. Then he turned and walked away, the darkness swallowing him whole.

Anna watched him go. The angel who had haunted her dreams vanished as quickly as he had come into her life. She threw the card to the ground and turned away, prepared to leave it in the gutter to rot…but she remembered what he said. _If what you running from ever catches you._ Then it occurred to her: the blue-haired man...Yuan. He had said something very similar. The stranger with the icy green eyes.

Her past was after her. She knew that. Maybe she always knew that. Maybe that's why she had prepared for it. Let it come. She wouldn't back down now.

She snatched up the card from the dirt before walking away. Just in case.

* * *

CW

* * *

You know what to do! Review please.


	7. Don't Leave Me to Die Here

Holy plot development, Batman! Thank you to my awesome and faithful reviewers (SSanity, splitheart1120, and diety. Love you guys!) and thanks to all the readers! On with the show!

Disclaimer: Duh.

* * *

CW

* * *

Pronyma hurried down the cold cavernous halls of Cruxis's Sylvarant office, heels clacking angrily. She burst through the large double doors directly in front of her and emerged into Yggdrasill's waiting room. Ignoring the protests of Tabatha, his secretary, she charged into the meeting room beyond.

Yggdrasill's eyes flashed dangerously from where he sat at the head of the large table. Around him, several important men in dark suits looked up, surprised and faintly annoyed at the interruption. It didn't matter. She had it. She had it!

"Sir, I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't-!"

Yggdrasill raised a hand to silence her. "It's fine Tabatha. I'm sure Pronyma has a very good explanation as to her interruption." His voice and face were pleasant enough, his eyes were anything but. "Return to your post. Gentleman," he said addressing the men. "Would you excuse me? I promise this will take only a moment." He stood and straightened his tie, smoothing a hand down the front of his white suit. Had Pronyma not had the information he wanted so desperately, she would have feared for her life.

Mithos led her into the office adjacent to the meeting room. "Are you mad?" He asked quietly. "You do not interrupt a meeting with my political sponsors! How dare-?"

"But my lord, I have news!" Pronyma interrupted.

Mithos slapped Pronyma hard on the cheek causing her head to snap sharply to the side. "And now you interrupt?"

"It's about A012!" Pronyma said shrilly cradling her cheek as her eyes watered against the slap.

Mithos's anger subsided. "You found her?"

Pronyma smiled coldly; glad to be able to drop this bomb on Mithos. "No. Lord Kratos did."

Mithos's brow furrowed. "He has not reported as such. Is she in Asgard?"

"No," Pronyma replied. "She's in Palmacosta."

"But he's been in Triet for a month," Mithos said with a frown, "and before that he was in Asgard and Izoold."

"Correct." Pronyma said allowing thus information to sink in.

Mithos's eyes widened. "Are you certain?"

"I believe him to be misleading the search," Pronyma said. "He has not been as thorough as usual. Plus I happen to know that he was with her the day he left for Asgard three months ago."

Mithos's fists clenched. "Why had you not come forth with this before?"

"I had to be sure," Pronyma said. "Lord Kratos is a loyal servant. I had to be certain that he really was misleading you. And he's a hard man to follow."

Mithos shook his head. "I do not believe this. If you are lying…."

"I have proof," Pronyma said hurriedly. "May I?" She said gesturing at the computer behind him. Mithos nodded curtly and she hastened to her e-mail account. "A contact in the Palmacosta Police Force sent me this footage from a security camera a few minutes ago. I made sure he did not view it himself. It took a long time to sift through the footage, hence the delay, but I did find this." She turned the screen towards him.

Mithos watched the screen. There, in the harsh black and white of the footage, was Kratos. Mithos watched as the subject sprinted into the alley and Kratos grabbed her. For a moment it looked like Kratos was doing his job, capturing her to bring her in.

Until he kissed her. Kissed her and walked away.

Pronyma froze the footage there, allowing the sight of Kratos and Anna locked in their dangerous embrace fully penetrate Mithos's brain.

Then, without warning, Yggdrasill punched his fist through the computer screen as the monitor hissed and sparked in protest. He turned away, his face calm "I must resume my meeting. You and Kvar are to take a small contingent of Desians and bring this girl to the ranch. And send me Lord Yuan. I will dispatch him to collect that traitor Kratos."

"Yes my lord," Pronyma said with a small bow as Yggdrasill stormed away. "A picture truly is worth a thousand words," she muttered, smiling cruelly.

* * *

Anna sat bolt upright in bed, sweating and shaking as she gasped for air. Noishe yipped quietly and immediately began licking her hand as it clenched the blanket, fingers trembling. Shivering with the remnants of her dream she picked up the dog and settled him across her lap, petting him to sooth her nerves.

She had dreamed of her mother, her sweet caring loving mother. Anna was running, trying to catch up to her mother's retreating figure. No matter how hard she ran, she couldn't catch her. Then, suddenly, Kvar appeared and struck her mother down right in front of her. He laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed, and Anna, now trying to run from him, couldn't get away. Her angel stood in front of her, watching her struggle, but never once aiding her. She couldn't get away. She never would.

Frustrated she pushed Noishe off her lap and got out of bed. The clock on the wall read 2 a.m. but she knew there would be no sleeping now. It had been like these for weeks, months even. She'd have horrible nightmares and wake in a cold sweat. Classes, midterms , and now finals had passed in a haze of exhaustion and depression and her energy would drain performing the simplest of tasks. It had been this way ever since Kratos…

"No!" Anna said fiercely, yanking open her dresser violently and digging for a pair of jeans. "Don't think about him."

But she couldn't stop herself from thinking of him. He walked through every thought, swam through ever dream, and at night when she woke from her nightmares the first thing she would think of to calm herself was him: his auburn hair, his smoldering mahogany eyes, he perfectly tone body flush against hers, his lips—"

"GAH!" Anna slammed her closet shut and yanked on a pair of boots. She had to get out of the apartment. Clear her head. She grabbed her keys and cell phone, whistled for Noishe and stormed off into the night.

The streets were quiet but for the chirping of crickets and the echoing sounds of Anna's footsteps. The nip in the air reminded her that autumn approached as September wore down. She rubbed her arms as gooseflesh appeared and wished she had brought Kratos's jacket.

"Damn it!" Anna growled and Noishe looked up at her with something like reproach. "Sorry," she muttered at her faithful companion. "I'm just frustrated." She sighed heavily. "I miss him…and I shouldn't. Not only is he dangerous, but he left me! What a creep." Noishe whined. "Well he is," Anna replied defensively. "You know it's true."

Anna circled the block once, wishing for exhaustion to take over and wishing for her mind to get rid of Kratos. Stupid cruel, beautiful, arrogant, sexy Kratos. She hated him for leaving while simultaneously thanking Martel that he had gone. Still, she woke up nights, drenched sometimes in fear sweat and other times writhing as the memory of that kiss invaded her dreams. How could she allow herself to care? Hadn't she learned that all men were evil? Hadn't she learned they either beat you or left you?

Anna smiled ruefully. Her father hadn't fully embittered her yet. Perhaps that was a good thing.

Yet she still watched her back more often now. She knew that her path had crossed with Kratos's for a reason. It was very likely her father was looking for her. Kratos figured in somehow, she just had no idea how. That Yuan character bore a strange resemblance to Kratos. Not a familial resemblance but more of a sense of…otherness. It was like a weird eternal patience and leonine grace and smooth demeanor that she had come to associate with the pair of them. Something not quite human…but that was impossible. Right?

Noishe nudged her leg. She'd had been standing in the middle of the sidewalk lost in her thoughts for who knows how long. Anna reached down and scratched the now slightly larger green and white dog. "You're right boy. Let's go home. It's cold."

* * *

Kratos perched on the roof of his temporary lodgings and gazed out broodingly at the stars. He was counting them, he always was. He had time. He sighed into the warm desert breeze and tried to decide on his next move. Unfortunately he was running out of options. He had led the search in the wrong direction, but he was running out of places to search. Sylvarant just wasn't that big and he doubted Mithos would believe that Anna had somehow hopped the border into Tethe'alla. What to do?

He managed not to think of her too often. He kept busy. He never set one foot anywhere near Palmacosta and he felt more and more relieved with the passing of each day. No phone calls. No cries for help. She was safe. Safe from her past. Safe from him.

Grimacing he rubbed absentmindedly at his chest. It had been bothering him ever since he left Palmacosta. It felt hallow, like something inside had been damaged or removed. He had no idea what type of injury he had suffered, or how, but it became increasingly annoying to deal with. He did note that it ached at night and whenever he talked to Yggdrasill about the search. It was most likely stress related. He really should get it checked out.

* * *

Yuan exited Mithos's office and calmly walked down the hallway looking like he had naught a care in the world. He reached the elevator and rode it to the ground floor, emerging into the evening sunlight bouncing off of the gleaming tower of Salvation, Cruxis office building located in the city of Kharlan. He stared up at it, the figurehead of the empire he helped build. The charitable organization that once had helped so many now covered deceit, lies, and murder. Martel would die of shame if she had lived to see this.

And it would kill her to see Yuan betray Kratos.

Yggdrasill was having a fit. He had discovered that Kratos had found Anna and had hidden her existence. He had led the search away from her and Mithos was enraged. He had suspected something was wrong when he couldn't get a hold of Kratos for almost two days so he had dispatched Pronyma to follow him. Growling, Mithos had shown Yuan the security camera footage and demanded that Yuan go to Triet and drag the traitorous bastard back to him.

Yuan smiled as he remembered Mithos's red face as he watched Kratos kiss Anna. Yuan feigned surprise and agreed to do as he was bid. It was a laugh really. He wasn't surprised by any of: Pronyma being a spy, Mithos suspecting Kratos, not even Kratos and Anna kissing.

After all…who did they think it was that sent the footage through the Palmacosta Police Department's server?

Yuan smiled up into the setting sun. All according to plan.

* * *

Anna turned back on to her street and moseyed half-heartedly in the direction of her apartment. Her mind was far from clear, but the walk wasn't helping. Maybe some reading? Studying was out, she had finished her last exam that afternoon. Or maybe—

Noishe let out a low growl that shook Anna out of her thoughts. Glancing down, she saw to her surprise that his teeth were bared and his fur was on end. Growl rumbled low and loud in his throat and he was looking straight at her apartment building.

"Noishe?" she said tentatively extended her hand out toward him. "You ok boy?" Noishe shook his head. Anna looked up at her building every nerve alert. Noishe was a docile animal for the most part. If something had him on the defensive, she had better pay heed. Anna took a timid step toward her apartment. Noishe barked and clamped his teeth gently around her booted ankle, tugging her leg back and causing her to stumble. Anna's panic rose. Noishe had proven to be a very smart dog and he was clearly telling her that something was up at home.

Anna gripped her cell phone and shook her boot free. "I have to get closer…check and see what's going on." Noishe woofed quietly once. Anna crossed the sidewalk and crouched low among the shrubs that border the sidewalk, cutting across several front yards before ducking behind a tree at the very edge of her apartment building. Anna exhaled heavily. Something was wrong. She could feel it now. She knew that when she looked around this tree, she would find disaster waiting right on her door step.

Deep breath…

Turn…

Look…

Run.

* * *

"Yuan."

Kratos was still gazing up at the starts when Yuan approached. He didn't even have to turn around to know that the half-elf was there. He always knew.

"Kratos," Yuan replied, unsurprised at Kratos detecting him.

"What do you want?" Kratos asked. Yuan said nothing. "Enigmatic as always, aren't you." Kratos sighed and looked down. "You always follow me. Why is that."

"I have my reasons," Yuan said. "We were friends once. Almost like brothers."

"Things change Yuan," Kratos said, his voice heavy with the years of bitterness between them. "People change. It's unavoidable. You cannot oppose fate."

"You haven't changed," Yuan said, folding his arms across his chest. "Still the same old stoic Kratos, talking about fate and hiding himself behind layers of ice." Yuan shook his head. "I could count the number of times I've seen you smile. Every one of them had to do with Martel's hopeful nature of Mithos's blind optimism."

"He used to be so innocent," Kratos said. "So unguarded, despite his rough upbringing. But now…"

"Now he's unhinged," Yuan said. "Insane with grief and power. Looking at old friends and seeing traitorous fools who throw away their own lives for a girl."

Kratos whipped his head around, the hollow pain in his chest giving and uncomfortable jerk. "What are you talking about?" he asked sharply.

Yuan looked at him. "You know what I am talking about."

Kratos read Yuan's eyes like a book. A split second later her surged to his feet, hand flying for the gun inside his coat. He aimed it at Yuan's head precisely as Yuan aimed his at Kratos's eyes.

"He sent you after me, didn't he." It wasn't a question. "He knows I found her."

"Did you really think you could hide it?" Yuan asked. "Did you really think he wouldn't find out?"

"I thought somewhere in the twisted wreckage of our past there was still some seeming of loyalty between us," Kratos said coldly. "I will not make the same mistake twice."

"It was not I who told him," Yuan said smugly. "He had Pronyma follow you. You were careless. Although…I may have helped…just a little."

Kratos cocked the hammer back and glared. "You think to take me in? Try." Kratos's eyes seemed to go black with anger. "I will go straight through you to get to her before they do. You'd be unwise to remain in my way."

* * *

Anna ran for all she was worth, away from her apartment, away from the harsh reality that had suddenly caught up with her. She had been ten kinds of foolish thinking she could escape it forever. She should have run farther. Harder, run away from Sylvarant and fled to Tethe'alla. But she couldn't worry about that now. She only worried about getting far, far away.

She had reached the outskirts of downtown, about two miles from her apartment. She had to stop, but not out in the open. Where could she go? She had to get inside—she was too exposed on the street—but it was 2 in the morning. What in the world was open at two in the morning?

Anna heard a quiet woof in the distance. Looking around for Noishe, she saw him a few yards down the street. "What are you doing?" Anna panted. "We have to get inside!" Noishe woofed and jogged a few steps down the street. "No!" Anna glared. "Inside." Noishe whimpered and jogged a few more steps, turning to look over his shoulder at her. Anna groaned. Why did she get stuck with the only dog in the world who was intelligent enough to communicate with people?

"All right," she said, jogging to catch up with him. "But you better know what you're doing? I sure don't."

It was another three blocks before Anna realized where they were going. There, in the distance was the administration building of Palmacosta University. "Campus?" Anna said stopping again. "Why?" Noishe did not pause and Anna tore off after the dog before she lost sight of him. He led her through the sidewalks, across the vast lawn, past dorms and classrooms until he reached his destination. There in the distance, lights ablaze, was the library. The library which just so happened to be open 24 hours during exam week.

Anna ran up and hugged Noishe around the neck. "Thank you, you brilliant creature." She gave Noishe a grateful scratch behind the ears, causing his collar to jingle. "Your collar…" Anna quickly unfastened it and stuffed it in her pocket. "Listen boy," she said hurriedly. "I've got to go inside and I can't take you with me. I'm taking your collar off so no one will trace you back to me." Anna pointed at a clump of bushes next to the library's immense front stairway. "Hide there. Don't make a sound. No matter who comes, don't move or make a sound." Anna thought for a moment. "Unless it's the bad guys. Then bark like crazy." Noishe woofed quietly again. "good boy." She hugged him once more and dashed up the stairs into the warm glow of the library.

"Anna?" Anna turned, as her eyes adjusted to the fluorescent overhead lights and saw Kate sitting at the reference desk, looking at her with alarm. Since the day she had given Anna the pencil, the two had exchange polite greetings, chatting a little bit every so often. While not friends per se, Anna doubted very seriously Kate had an evil bone in her body and judging by the older girl's stare, Anna clearly looked as desperate and panicked as she felt.

"Kate," she whispered, running up to the desk and leaning heavily on the cool marble counter, her breathing ragged. "Listen, someone's following me. I need to hide. I know it's an outrageous request, but I desperately need somewhere to hide. You have to help me."

Kate stood. "Then we should call the police—." she said, reaching for the phone.

"No," Anna said, grabbing her wrist. "Please no. They'll find me first. Please…" Anna swallowed hard as her insides turned to ice with fear. "Look, I just need some kind of study room or something, preferably somewhere well off the main floor where not a lot of people go." Anna looked up at Kate and let every ounce of desperation show in her eyes. "Please. Just long enough to get them off my trail."

Kate looked at her for a moment. Then she squared her shoulders and a look of determination settled on her face. "Come with me," she said stepping around the desk and leading Anna down the stair case across from the desk.

"Where are we going?" Anna asked as they went down three flights of stairs and emerged onto a dimly lit ground floor.

"There's a small room down here that houses the communication department's extracurricular activities." Kate said, stopping at a door just to the left of the stairs. She punched in a code on the key pad. "The newspaper, radio station, and TV station all use this space." She pushed the door open to reveal a large room. Two closet sized rooms directly across from them held fancy film equipment and computers, separated from the main room by sliding glass doors. A row of three computers ran along the wall next to them and there was a small stage and green screen was off in the opposite corner. Anna stepped in and noticed a third small room housing TV screens and radio equipment. It was completely dark and deserted except for the glow of the computer screens and TV monitors.

Anna turned back to Kate. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much."

Kate held her hand up in front of her face and bit her lip. "I don't know what you have gotten in to…but I doubt you've done anything wrong." Kat shrugged. "If you need me, dial 8877 on the phone on the wall. I'm the only one who will answer it." Kate thought for a moment. "And you use 9 to dial out." With that she turned on her heel and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

Anna collapsed into the chair at the long table that dominated the room, feeling momentarily safe. She knew it wouldn't last. Still breathing hard and rubbing at cramped muscles she began to think hard.

She needed to get out of Palmacosta…that much was certain. But how? All she had on her was her cell phone and her keys. She had foolishly left her wallet and money at home. She had no friends, no family, nowhere to go, and no one to call. She would be found here, probably sooner than she would like. What was she going to do?

Anna sighed and looked down at her cell phone. Bringing up her very sparse contact list, she scrolled through the numbers, looking for anything that could help. She had early reached the end of her short list when she saw her very last hope that she had thankfully programmed into her phone.

Kratos Aurion.

* * *

The phone at Kratos's hip buzzed faintly, but he dared not remove even one hand from the firm grip he had on his weapon that was pointing at Yuan.

"That's her," Yuan said. "She's calling you for help. You're likely the only hope she has now."

"Why are you saying this?" Kratos demanded "Why did you set me up if you aren't going to drag me in?"

"It's your choice Kratos," Yuan said. "You can stay here and argue my motives, or you can take that call and help her while you still can." Kratos didn't move. "Your choice Kratos. But Kvar is in Palmacosta. At her apartment."

"You're lying," Kratos said coolly.

"Are you prepared to bet her life on that?" Yuan asked simply.

Kratos could kill him. Yuan knew him far too well. The phone began to buzz again and Kratos knew he had to answer it. Holding his gun with one hand, he reached down and grabbed the phone. "Aurion," he said curtly.

"If your offer to help still stands, I'll take it because I'm in trouble and outnumbered."

Kratos actually bit back a smile. Even in danger, she was still sassy and confident and right to the point. He had not heard her voiced for so long; he had forgotten how musical it sounded. Even now, when it was laced through with panic and fear underneath that bravado, he cherished the sound, relieved to hear it again and ashamed that he had caused this.

"Where are you?" Kratos asked.

"University library. I managed to get in a room that's well off the beaten path, but they'll find it eventually."

"What's the situation?" Kratos asked, glaring at Yuan, who said nothing, still pointing his own weapon at Kratos.

"There are men in my apartment. Searching. Noishe alerted me to the danger. I ran for the only building that was open at 2 a.m., but they'll find my school records soon enough. They'll come here."

"Then we need to get you out of there," Kratos said. "Ok listen to me very carefully Anna. Follow my instructions to the letter, ok?" Anna agreed. "Leave your cell phone behind, they'll track you with it. There's an apartment two blocks from campus on Undine Street. Building 12. There is no door man, only a security code at the front and back doors. Go around to the back and enter in the code 5827. Do you have that?"

"5827, got it."

Kratos's arm was getting tired, he had to hurry. "You'll be in a maintenance hallway with a maintenance elevator directly in front of you. Take it up to the top floor. This will drop you off in the middle of the hallway. Go left and look for apartment 287. There will be another key pad. This time enter 7766."

"5827, 7766. Ok."

"That will unlock the door. Go inside, shut the door. There are several locks and deadbolts. Do not lock any of them, understand?"

"Ok…" Anna said uncertainly.

"In the closet in the bedroom there is a false wall leading to a small computer room," Kratos said and noted Yuan's shocked look. "It should swing open and closed with relative ease. Get in there and stay absolutely silent."

"I can do that, but Noishe is coming too." Kratos nodded at that even though she couldn't see it. "Anything else?"

"Do you know how to handle a gun?" Kratos asked.

"Somewhat," Anna said. "I am better with a blade of any kind."

"The you're in luck," Kratos said. "I the drawer on the desk, there is a gun and holster and a brace of wrist knives. Strap them on, keep both hands occupied by weapons until I get there."

"Got it."

"And Anna?"

"Yes?"

Kratos voice sounded dead and cold, even to his own ears. "If anyone finds you that isn't me…kill them. Kill them dead. Do not trust anyone. Do you understand me?"

Anna's voice was equally frigid. "That won't be a problem."

"Stay low," Kratos said. "Stay safe."

"I will…" Anna paused for a moment. "This is about more than my abusive father being after me isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Will you give me some answers when I see you?"

"…Yes."

"Then I'll trust you…for now." He could picture her glare. "Hurry up." With that, the line went dead.

"How did you get my security codes?" Yuan demanded, not counting on this turn of events. "Why did you set up a safe room?"

Kratos smirked half-heartedly. "Did you really think I'd follow Mithos blindly forever."

Kratos slid the phone back into its clip and resumed his two handed hold on his gun. " Stand aside Yuan or I will have no choice."

Yuan smirked as well and holstered his weapon. "If I wanted to take you in, don't you think I would have done it?"

"Then why are you here?" Kratos demanded. "Why come after me? Why warn me then tell me you were the one who exposed me?"

"Remember how I spared your life today Kratos," Yuan said. "Remember how your life and hers can be forfeit because of me and the secrets I know about you." Yuan turned and walked away. "I think I'll enjoy you looking over your shoulder everyday for the rest of her life."

Kratos lowered his weapon as Yuan disappeared. "Damn him."

* * *

CW

* * *

Anyone else confused about Yuan's motives? Good! -evil grin- All will be revealed in time...but only if you review!


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